Dark Seas
by Riokodragon
Summary: As Orca, Crown Princess of the SeaWings, attempts to hide her powers, her family works to uncover her secrets. In the aftermath, one of her remaining brothers sets out into Pyrrhia to destroy animus magic for good, joining a thief with Queen Glacier on her scales, a captive-hatched MudWing, and a stone gryphon brought to life.
1. Prologue

"Coconut, please don't follow my commands."

Orca took a glance around the stone walls of her room to make sure no one was watching. While she might have been alone in her room at the Summer Palace, she didn't want to take any chances of being caught using her magic. The two doors leading out of her room were both closed, fortunately.

A small coconut rested by her front claws, beneath a large bed which looked far too big for even four dragons, much less one little dragonet. On top of the bed was a satchel with a few waterproof scrolls hanging out: all of the belongings that Orca had bothered to bring with her from her normal undersea bedroom in the Deep Palace. If she really had to get something from the Deep Palace, she could just ask her mother to take her back (Coral would comply to almost _any_ of Orca's demands), and they would be back before sunfall.

On two of the other walls of the room were doors. One of these led to a so-called "natural" balcony overlooking the palace's pavilion and connecting to the rest of the palace, while the second led directly to Gill and Coral's room. While the one leading to the outside was locked, the latter was not, and Coral could barge in at any time, which would be unfortunately inconvenient if Orca was using her magic at the moment.

Although Orca didn't know what would happen if her mother, Queen Coral, found out about her animus powers, it couldn't be good. The SeaWings had just sent out their first batch of troops for war, and Orca might be forced to go along with the second as some sort of magical weapon. Or worse, Coral might have her killed.

Orca felt the cold, damp stone beneath her claws, part of the magnificent palace created by the ancient animus Albatross. Yet, all SeaWings of the royal family knew all too well what he had done with his powers. Two-thousand years might have been a long time, but dragons had long memories. If Coral thought that Orca would do similar, they'd have her throat cut out before the end of the night. It was somewhat ironic. If Orca's destiny was to eventually kill Coral herself and take her place on the SeaWing throne, killing Coral a little early couldn't hurt, right? Not that she planned to do it anytime soon, _she_ wasn't crazy.

Orca listened for any clawsteps in the neighboring room, and detecting none, she turned back to the coconut on the ground.

"Coconut, please lift up into the air."

A phantasmal force slowly wrapped itself around the coconut, steadily moving the coconut upwards until it reached a height of around Orca's wings. She sighed. The coconut still followed her commands, even though she had told it not to earlier. She had to think of another plan.

Suddenly, Orca heard clawsteps in the room nextdoor, and the wooden doorknob started to turn. The young princess glanced at the coconut, still levitating in midair. If Coral saw it, there would be no chance at hiding her secret.

"Coconut, be invisible to Coral," Orca whispered. A wave of exhaustion passed over Orca, and she suddenly felt slightly light-headed. She steadied herself with her tail. Most of the enchantments Orca had done so far involved moving small objects back and forth, but this was more complicated than her usual. She crossed her claws and hoped it would work.

The door opened, and Coral stepped into the room. The queen's scales were a deep ultramarine, like an unnaturally vivid burst of water. Pearl necklaces of all colors and sizes adorned her neck, and a sharpened narwhal horn was strapped to her tail, gentle candlelight glistening off its indents. Coral's own horns had silver rings around them, complimenting her scales beautifully.

"It's almost time for the ceremony, sweetie!" Coral said, barging through the door. "Let's get these pearls on!"

The spell seemed to work. Coral didn't look once at the unnervingly levitating coconut in the middle of the room. Orca breathed a sigh of relief.

Holding a few strands of pearl necklaces in her claws, Coral walked towards Orca. Orca's eyes suddenly opened in alarm; Coral was going to walk right into the floating coconut.

Orca rushed towards Coral, narrowly avoiding the levitating coconut on the way. She wrapped her wings lovingly around her mother, and feigned a delighted expression on her snout.

"Thank you so much, mother!" Orca said, slightly pushing into Coral in order to move her away from the coconut. "I was soooooo excited for the ceremony, and had almost forgotten about these!"

"Oh, er, great!" replied Coral, slightly confused as to why her daughter was ramming into her. She draped a pearl necklace around Orca, then another, and another. Orca stood between Coral and the floating coconut.

"Thank you, mother!" Orca said, attempting to get Coral out of the room as fast as she could. She nudged her mother towards the door. "I'll be right out, I just have to fix up a few things first."

"Mhm," Coral replied. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot, Gill and I are going to have more dragonets! Maybe another sister for you, or even two!"

"I'm very glad you're having more potential queens, but I really need to finish up so we can get to the ceremony," Orca replied. _Oops_ , Orca thought, _that came out a little weird._ She pondered for a moment what more siblings meant for the throne, but Orca decided she was too busy making sure Coral didn't run into an invisible coconut to worry about future heiresses right now. "It's almost time, right?"

Coral nodded, ignoring Orca's faux pas. "Well, I'll let you be, but just make it quick!" She trotted out of the room, while Orca shut the door as soon as Coral's tail flicked past the doorway. Orca breathed a sigh of relief.

"Coconut, float back to the ground," she muttered, "and no longer be invisible to Coral." The coconut obeyed, and it gently returned to its mundane state.

 _New siblings?_ Orca thought. _Ugh, maybe instead of having new children, Coral could pay more attention to the ones she already has_. Orca was thinking of her two older brothers, Rift and Anglerfish (Angler for short). At least since Orca was born, Coral had completely ignored their existence. It didn't help that they were identical twins, and their milky-green scales made them look almost exactly alike. Coral seemed to always confuse one for the other.

Yet, if Coral did have another daughter, maybe she would be less engulfing of Orca. Coral was constantly around Orca, always trying get into her business, and it annoyed the young princess to no end. She might be able to get a little freedom in her life for once if Orca had someone else to parent.

Orca glanced back at the coconut. Although it seemed a little unreliable just to tell the coconut not to move, maybe she could prevent her powers from being caught in another way. When Coral came in, she couldn't see the coconut levitating, there's no reason why Orca couldn't do the same at the Talons of Power ceremony. All she had to do was make it so that other dragons couldn't sense the coconut being affected by her powers, and she would be fine. The plan was foolproof!

"Orca!" Coral's voice called from the attached room. "We need to go!"

"Sorry mother!" Orca quickly replied. She straightened out her pearl beads and opened the door, ready to face her challenge.

* * *

The ruins of the Island Palace were not very far from the Summer Palace, only a short swim. As Orca neared closer to the ruins, right behind Coral and Gill, more and more dragons converged, swarming around the royal family. Over to her right, she saw the royal twins, Rift and Angler, join the rest of their family.

 _Hey,_ Orca flashed in Aquatic to Rift. She could easily tell which one was him, even if Coral couldn't. His body was just a little bit stockier than Angler's, and he was much more talkative than his quiet twin.

 _Hey!_ Rift flashed back. _Did Coral tell you that we're getting more siblings?_

Orca visibly rolled her eyes, and lit up two glowing bands on her tail which, when combined, created a similar meaning. _Ugh. How much larger a family do we need? I thought three dragonets was enough, and combined with Aunt Tempest, Uncle Shark, and his dragonet, that's even more . . . like twenty-four._

Rift silently laughed, and three of his stripes flashed up to communicate his chuckles. _Eight,_ he replied. _You used the wrong wing-band modifier._

Orca blushed in embarrassment. She still hadn't gotten her numbers in Aquatic fully down yet, strangely enough. She had gotten a few mixed up when learning them, and had never completely broken the habit.

The ruins soon came up ahead, above the water surface. Orca smiled to Rift, and climbed out of the water, onto the golden sand. A fresh breath of salty air entered her lungs. She wasn't the only dragonet to do so. Maybe a hundred other dragonets around her age were doing the same, getting ready for their ceremonies. Orca wondered if any of them were also animuses. If they were, hopefully they had a plan in mind too, or else the entire kingdom would know about their powers.

"C'mon, Orca!" Coral called cheerfully. "Look at you, you're getting so big!"

Orca rolled her eyes again. She really was starting to get tired of her mother. A few new dragonets for her to wrangle with might not be such a bad idea.

Orca shook off the leftover droplets of water and stepped onto the golden beach, her claws making imprints in the wet sand. A number of SeaWings were already waiting there, with a pile of coconuts ready to be passed out. Two year old dragonets fidgeted in a straight line along the beach, impatiently waiting for the ceremony to begin. Whirlpool, Orca's tutor and the leader of the ceremony, sat among a few older dragons, ready for it to begin.

Orca took her place among the line. Next to her were two dragonets she had never seen before: a small purple one who smelt slightly of rotting fish, and another with a golden chain wrapped around her neck, maybe a minor noble of some sort. Both of them avoided looking directly at Orca, not wanting to disrespect the princess with their stares. The one with the chain scrunched her wings in tightly, attempting not to accidentally nudge Orca with them. Orca didn't mind if one of them accidentally bumped her, although she wished the purple one would've cleaned himself a little more.

Behind Orca stood a large jungle, with ancient ruins occasionally breaking the peaks. The Island Palace. Where one of Orca's ancestors, Albatross, had lost his soul and killed the royal family in his insanity. Orca shivered. Hopefully the enchantment she was about to perform wouldn't harm her soul. She didn't feel violent against any of her family members yet, right?

"Hello, dragonets," Whirlpools slimy voice called out, like a bunch of live eels slithering over one another. "We're going to start the ceremony now. Let's pass out the coconuts."

Slowly but surely, a few of the older dragons passed out coconuts into each of the dragonets grabbing claws. Now was the time for Orca to try her enchantment. She brought her snout close to the coconut, to make it seem like she was muttering a good-luck charm or something.

"Coconut, I enchant you so that no dragon in Pyrrhia other than myself can see, hear, or feel any effects caused by magic used upon you." Would that do it? If all else failed, Orca could try and enchant something to remove everyone's memories of the ceremony, but she didn't think she was powerful enough to do something like that. Additionally, just the idea of an animus being able to do something like that unnerved her. If changing dragons' minds like that was possible, how could she know anything was real? She squeamishly thought about the enchantment she had just made. Maybe it was a little too late for that.

Suddenly, a wave of lightheadedness passed over her, as if she had gotten up too quickly from bed. She attempted to move her tail to keep herself balanced. Yet this time, a cold shiver followed it, unnaturally chilling her scales. But Orca kept herself steady.

Glancing around, the other two dragonets were still attempting to avoid looking at her. If they had somehow seen something, hopefully they wouldn't think anything of it.

Whirlpool walked slowly along the line of dragonets; wherever he passed, looks of disappointment appeared as the dragonets were unable to move their coconuts. After what seemed like an eternity, he got to Orca.

"Hello, dear," Whirlpool said to Orca, his forked tongue flickering in and out of his teeth. "You know, it would be absolutely _wonderful_ if we had an animus princess. The war would be over hardly before it started, and the SeaWings could reap all the benefits. Your mother would be _so_ proud."

Orca gulped. Did he somehow suspect her magic? Well, if he did, this would hopefully put his suspicions to rest.

"Coconut, float in the air, and then return to my claws," Orca said. Suddenly, the coconut rose into the air from her claws, and resting for just a moment, came back as softly as it had risen. Orca was momentarily startled by it, but Whirlpool just kept staring at her claws with a glazed over expression of boredom on his face. Orca's enchantment had worked; Whirlpool didn't notice a thing.

" _Disappointing_ ," Whirlpool slimily hissed, a sour expression forming on his snout. "Maybe Coral's next daughter will have the gift."

He moved on to the dragonet with the golden chain, and Orca breathed a sigh of relief. Her secret was safe.


	2. Chapter 1

It had been three years since Orca's Talons of Power ceremony. She had managed to hide her secret well: as far as she knew, no one had discovered her powers. True to their word, Coral and Gill had created two more siblings for Orca: a violet-scaled princess named River, and a cerulean prince named Torrent.

After River was born, Coral had become totally occupied with the newborn princess, and Orca had been left to her own devices since. She continued having private lessons with Whirlpool, but she was a fast learner, and schoolwork couldn't hold her attention for long. In her free time, if she could remain unseen in her room in the Deep Palace (luckily, her old rooms which had been attached to her mother's had been given to River) she might attempt to practice using her animus powers, but Orca tried not to practice with them too often, in fear of losing her soul like the legends had warned. Instead, she had taken up sculpting as a hobby.

Orca enjoyed creating models of her family and the other dragons who lived in the palace, and had a few busts of some of her family members. While she did have a few enchantments on her sculpting tools to make things a little easier and smoother, she preferred not to make her sculptures entirely from enchantments; it took away all the fun.

Another hobby of hers was reading scrolls. This was what she was doing now, nosing around the underwater library for fascinating things to read. The scrolls in the Deep Palace library were all coated with a smooth resin, preventing them from dissolving in the water, although apparently all of the scrolls had to be copied every hundred years or so.

Orca pulled out a scroll from the shelf and read its title. _Role of the SeaWings in the War of Queen Fen_. If she remembered Whirlpool's history lessons correctly, Queen Fen was an animus who had used her powers to create a amulet that created a giant bubble of air, allowing the MudWings to attack the Deep Palace for the first time in history. Orca hadn't seen this scroll before, and it involved animus dragons, so she placed it in her pile with a series of other scrolls. A couple were on sculpting, and there was one Whirlpool had assigned to her showing how monarchies were the ideal system of government, but the rest were stories and recounted legends that Orca would read in her free time.

She tucked her pile of scrolls in her claws and was just about to exit the library when suddenly, another SeaWing ran into her, knocking the scrolls out of her claws and onto the ground.

Her older brother, Rift, looked down in embarrassment. _Oh clams,_ he flashed in Aquatic, _I'm super sorry about that. Ugh, I've been so squid-armed today._

 _You're_ always _squid-armed_ , Orca japed. Rift started attempting to re-capture the scrolls, which were gently floating away from the two in all directions.

Rift glanced at the title on one of the scrolls. _Reading about Queen Fen?_ he asked. _Whirlpool assign you more boring history scrolls? He sure has for me. I'm reading a history on the years right after mother became queen, and he keeps bragging about how much he did to strengthen her reign, and how 'the SeaWing Kingdom would have plunged into anarchy had I not been alive then.' The funny part is that the scroll mentions his name zilch times._

 _Oh,_ Orca responded, _no, I'm actually reading this for fun. It just looked a little interesting to me, and I thought I would check it out._

Rift snorted. _One of the Sea Kingdom's biggest military failures if you ask me. Speaking of that, you mind me asking you about something?_

Orca gulped as she picked up another scroll. Could he have found out? But how? Maybe she could enchant something on him to make him forget . . . no, that seemed wrong, controlling dragons like that. _Ask away,_ she flashed, not knowing how else to answer.

 _Well,_ Rift replied, _I was thinking about how closed-off the Deep Palace is. We have guests occasionally, but it's just so boring._  
Orca breathed a sigh of relief. _Yeah, I suppose._

 _So, I've decided that I want to leave the Sea Kingdom and join the army._

Orca eyes went wide open. _The army? What if you get hurt? Or even worse, killed?_

 _Don't worry_ , Rift replied, _I'll be fine. I'm a prince, I'm not going to be placed on the front lines. Plus, we have the entire SeaWing army, the MudWings, and a third of the SandWings. The SkyWings and the IceWings are too busy fighting among each other, they don't have a chance. The war will be over in a year or two, max, so I won't be gone that long._

Orca fidgeted nervously. If she had learnt anything from Whirlpool's history scrolls, it was that wars killed dragons. _Have you asked Angler about it yet?_

Angler might have been twin Rift's brother, but he was smart, and wasn't scared to tell dragons if he thought they were wrong, his own brother included. He would know better how to handle this.

 _Not yet,_ Rift replied. _Do you think I should?_

Orca nodded. _He'll have some good advice for you._

She took the last of the scrolls she had dropped from Rift's claws, and glanced at him as he started to leave. _Stay safe,_ she flashed in Aquatic.

Rift grinned backwards, flashed _You too_ , and left, swimming down the cold undersea corridor.

Orca glanced up at the roof of the dark cavernous hall leading from the library. The Deep Palace had always seemed too large for her. The large distances between the rooms created a divide within her family; she could go without seeing one of her siblings for a whole day. It had seemed so much more inviting and full when she was following mother everywhere, but now it was just lonely and empty. She wondered how many times she had talked with her father in the past week; she could probably count them on her claws. They generally ate supper together in the banquet room, but the Deep Palace was so large that Orca didn't know if she had encountered Gill outside of meals. Yet, if Rift followed through with his idea and left the Sea Kingdom, the Deep Palace would feel larger still.

Orca sighed and carried her scrolls back to her room. After her old room had been passed down to River, Orca got the choice of almost any unused rooms in the palace. She had chosen a room nestled deep within the palace. She thought it could have been placed directly beneath her parents' rooms, a number of levels below, but she wasn't sure. It was almost a maze to reach it, and it was easy to get lost if you didn't know the way. From the library, Orca had to swim up two floors, go across a bridge leading to a fringe wing of the palace, head down another four floors or so, swim through a tunnel back to the main palace, and travel up a strangely slanted corridor to get to where her room was.

As she finally approached her room, after her long swim, she saw another SeaWing there, knocking on her locked door. It was her newest brother, Torrent. She wondered how he had gotten down here, as far as she knew, no one had told him how to get to her room.

 _Hey,_ Orca flashed in Aquatic, the bright bursts of light getting Torrent's attention. _What are you doing down here?_

 _I need help understanding a history scroll I'm reading for Whirlpool. Gill was busy so I asked Angler, but Angler was busy so he told me to come down here to ask you. Are you busy too?_

Orca sighed. She had been hoping to read some of her scrolls, but she didn't want to just pass Torrent along after he had come all the way down here. Maybe Whirlpool had assigned one of the more interesting scrolls.

 _No, I can help_ , Orca replied. While pinning her scrolls against her body with a wing, she unlocked the door and led Torrent into her room. Orca's room was a comfortable size. Not too small to be at all cramped, but not as overwhelmingly spacious as the rest of the palace. Orca breathed a sigh of relaxation as she entered it, glad to be out of the creepy corridors.

A few scroll-shelves lined the room, with maybe twenty or so scrolls in total on them. Orca added the ones she had picked out from the library to the collection. She would return some of them to the library as soon as she had finished reading them.

On the side opposite the scroll-shelves stood Orca's sculptures. A few chisels and a hammer sat beneath these. They all had various enchantments on them (for example, they could float in the water by Orca's claws without sinking), but Orca had placed a clause in her enchantments that she had to flash a couple specific words (seals and salmon) for them to work, so that no one would activate them accidentally and discover her secret. Her stone sculptures stood next to them, in the likeness of various dragons. She had an emerald-eyed bust of her father, and a head bust of her mother next to it, her eyes represented as beautiful black pearls. She was currently working on a full body statue of Coral's mother and Orca's grandmother, the late Queen Atoll.

Torrent pulled out his scroll and set it down before Orca and himself. He rolled it open, revealing what appeared to be a scroll on the reign of a SeaWing queen from around eighty years ago, Orca's great-grandmother, Queen Tidepool. It discussed how she had used various reforms in order to gather wealth for the Sea Kingdom and make them the richest kingdom of Pyrrhia at the time.

 _Okay. First, Whirlpool wants me to describe why Tidepool was called the 'Queen of Trade' and how she got into that role,_ Torrent flashed to Orca.

 _Alright,_ Orca replied, _the scroll glosses over this a little, but the way Tidepool first started to get into trade was by buying a bunch of land along the Diamond Spray River from the MudWings and the SkyWings. The MudWings of the Diamond Spray Delta have always been a bit more rebellious against the MudWing queens, because the palace is in the south of the kingdom. Tidepool paid a few of the MudWing nobles in the area to stir up trouble in the area, and because the MudWings were already in a war with the SandWings at the time and didn't have the resources to deal with it, their queen let Tidepool buy the land from her as long as Tidepool would keep the nearby MudWings from rebelling. After buying a little more land from the SkyWings, Tidepool used the Diamond Spray River in order to tax anyone passing through._

 _Okay, thanks,_ Torrent replied while furiously scratching down notes. _Next question . . ._

This continued on for a while. Although this wasn't one of her favorite periods of it, Orca enjoyed history, and loved to talk about the subject to others. She was actually starting to have fun with it.

After the last question, Torrent flashed with a sigh of relief, _All done. Thank you for the help!_

 _No problem,_ Orca replied. _If you want to read more about the time period, I know a great scroll in the library on Tidepool. It's much more interesting than the one Whirlpool had you read, I promise._

 _Ugh, no thanks,_ Torrent groaned. _I hate reading scrolls, they're all so boring._

Orca raised her eye scales in skepticism. _Really? All scrolls?_ she flashed.

Torrent nodded in reply, a little confused.

 _Well, I've got a surprise for you,_ Orca answered, grinning. She swam over to one of her scrollshelves and pulled out a scroll. She passed it to Torrent, and he rolled it open.

 _Legends of the Lost Continent_ , Torrent flashed, reading the title of the scroll.

 _You should try it,_ Orca recommended. _It's one of my favorites. It's a series of stories about a magical land across the sea with all sorts of fantastical creatures._

Torrent glanced a skeptical look at his older sister. _Alright,_ he replied. _I'll give it a try when I finish my homework for Whirlpool._

Orca smiled. _Don't worry, it'll be worth your while. Just return it to me when you're done._

Torrent nodded and rolled up the scroll. He tucked it under his wing, and swam over towards the door to Orca's room.

 _Thank you for the help and the scroll,_ he flashed in gratitude. Orca waved goodbye as he left the room.

After he closed the door, Orca breathed a sigh of relief. She had enjoyed spending time with Torrent, but she was ready to sit down and read some of the scrolls she had gotten from the library. She had just opened up the scroll on Queen Fen when she heard a knock on her door. She silently groaned before getting up to open the door.

Torrent was back again, looking slightly embarrassed. _I just realized that I don't know how to get back to the main part of the palace,_ he flashed stiffly.

Orca nodded, feeling inadequate for not thinking that Torrent might not have been able to find his way back. _Yeah, sorry. Here, I'll show you the way._

After shutting her door behind her, Orca swam through the passageway back to the central part of the Deep Palace, Torrent tagging along right behind her.


	3. Chapter 2

Orca dug her claws into the sand nervously, but kept a plastered smile on her snout. The end of her tail twitched in apprehension. Three years ago to this day, Orca had taken part in her Talons of Power Ceremony. This time, it was her younger siblings, River and Torrent, who were participating in it.

Orca knew that animus magic ran within families, but she was almost certain that her younger brother and sister, along with any other members of her family, were not animuses. After learning about the royal IceWing animus line, Orca had enchanted a small amethyst inlaid in a golden bracelet that her mother had given her for Orca's hatchday to heat up when animuses or enchantments were around, and so far it had only detected her own handiwork and other ancient enchanted items. For example, when she had brought the bracelet to the Summer Palace created by Albatross, the gem had gotten so hot it burnt her scales.

So, Orca logically didn't have any reason to be worried about more animuses at the ceremony. Yet, it still unnerved her, and she couldn't wait for the ceremony to end.

Torrent stood by the shadow of his twin sister, Princess River. Orca wore only a minimal amount of jewelry (for a SeaWing Princess, at least, Orca wore her golden bracelet and a small silver chain from her neck carrying a golden pendant in the shape of a dolphin on it, embedded with ruby eyes). River, on the other claw, was covered from snout to tail with precious metals, gemstones, and of course, pearls, the paradigm of wealth symbols in the Sea Kingdom. River had clearly taken inspiration from her mother's looks. Strands of multi-colored pearls were slung around her neck, and two gold bands were wrapped around each of River's horns, contrasting with her shimmering violet scales. Similar bands of gold wrapped around her neck and tail.

Torrent, on the other claw, was dressed much more modestly; he had only a silver chain placed around his neck. But both of the two siblings looked excited for their ceremony; like almost all of the dragonets in line, each of them waited impatiently for their turn.

Whirlpool eventually reached the royal siblings. He asked River to direct her coconut, but unsurprisingly, there was no effect. From Orca's distance, Whirlpool looked even more crestfallen than River.

Whirlpool quickly twisted his snout into his usual smug grin, and moved onto Torrent. The same result came; the coconut didn't move. Orca felt relief, but also a pinch of dismay. She had almost been hoping that there was someone else she could share her powers with.

The rest of the ceremony continued with no surprise. There were no animus dragons among this year's batch of two-year old dragonets.

"What a shame River isn't an animus," Queen Coral said, walking over to her eldest daughter, "it would sure help us win this war, and it would have been a great skill for a successor to have. Imagine all the good she could've done for the Kingdom!"

"Yeah," Orca replied, lost in her own thoughts. Was hiding her powers really the right thing to do? If Orca revealed her powers, she could help the Sea Kingdom in so many ways. In time, she might be able to create an enchantment giving the SeaWings an infinite supply of fish, or stones which could cure dragons of any illness, or a spear which renders the dragon holding it unbeatable in battle.

The animus princess opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by her mother.

"Of course, having an animus in charge of the kingdom might not be such a good idea after all," Coral interrupted, speaking what appeared to be her own train of thought out loud. "Queen Fen got so bloodthirsty at the end that her last remaining brother had to murder her in her sleep, and we all know what Albatross did. I suppose it's better than not that River isn't one. I wouldn't want to place a horrific burden like that on her."

Orca nodded quietly. That was why she couldn't use her powers to help others out. If she used them too much, she would lose her soul, and end up killing the rest of her family. It wasn't fair. She glanced down at her claws and felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Her tail twitched slightly. That wasn't something she wanted to think about.

"Well, it's no matter now," Coral smiled. "I have business to attend to with a member of my council; ask Gill to take you and River back to the Deep Palace."

The SeaWing queen stretched her wings, and royally trotted into the surf, before diving underwater. Orca sighed and walked up the beach towards where River and Torrent were standing.

"This way, Torrent," River ordered pretentiously. She looked a bit unhappy that she hadn't turned out to be an animus, but she was trying to hide it. "Move the rocks and shells out of my path so that I don't stub a claw on one. A princess should never have to stub her claws."

"Yes, River," Torrent reluctantly complied. He moved a few of the shells and rocks out of the way of his twin sister lethargically.

"That's Princess River," River demanded. Orca wondered where she got that tone from, their mother had at least one humble scale on her body.

"Yes, Princess River," Torrent grumbled, continuing to move shells and rocks to keep River's precious talons unscathed.

Orca rolled her eyes and sighed. "River, stop ordering around your brother," Orca requested.

"You're not my queen," River hissed back, her forked tongue flickering in and out of her jaws. "I don't have to do anything you say!"

"I'm your older sister," Orca replied calmly, "and Coral put me in charge of you two until we find father. So yes, you do."

"Oh yeah?" River replied. "Well, I'm an animus princess, so I outrank you, and if you try to order me around I'll turn you into a squid."

What might have been an immature but harmless comment to any other dragonet did not sit well with Orca. "Shut up! What do you think this ceremony was for?" she snapped at River, a growl behind her words. "You're not an animus, you're just a bratty, spoiled dragonet."

River gave a "hmph" in content, a smirk on her snout, satisfied that she had succeeded in angering her older sister. "My powers just haven't developed yet," she claimed. "Give it another year, and I'll have won the war for us. Now, Torrent, hurry picking up those shells or I'll turn you into a squid!"

Orca bristled in anger, her ear twitching. While River glanced away to see if her brother was doing an adequate job of his menial labor, Orca quickly murmured under her breath, "I enchant the sand in front of River to turn into a rock and stub River's claw."

River suddenly yelped in pain. "Ow, ow, ow!" she yelled. She rolled onto her back, and flailed her talons around, as if it would relieve the pain somehow. Torrent snickered, but quickly put a claw over his snout to hide it. After River finished her spectacle, she climbed back onto her four paws, wincing in pain slightly. She quickly noticed the rock that had caused her injury, and picked it up, examining it. "WHAT IS THIS?" she yelled at Torrent in a rage.

Torrent shrunk back in fear. "I'm sorry," he quietly whispered.

"No you're not," Orca replied for Torrent, walking between the two dragonets. "You don't have to listen to her orders." She turned to face River, baring her sharp, pointed teeth. "Watch where you're walking, next time. And don't ever try to order Torrent around again." She growled menacingly at her younger sister.

Orca was a few years older than River, and a fair amount larger, so the younger dragonet was clearly intimidated by her. Tears started to form in River's eyes, and she gulped. The young princess vigorously nodded in submission to her older sister.

Orca, satisfied, turned back to Torrent. "C'mon, let's go find Father," she calmly suggested.

After Orca and Torrent started walking away, River took a few deep breaths, relaxing herself. She glanced at the rock she had stubbed her claw on. Something about it just seemed off. It was a beautiful rock, almost unnaturally round. She squinted at it for a few more seconds before she ran off towards her siblings, keeping the rock safely held in her talons as they pushed past the ground.


	4. Chapter 3

Orca heard the rapping of claws at her door as she was reading one of her scrolls on animus histories. She quickly rolled up the scroll and tucked it into her scrollshelf. She didn't want anyone getting suspicious.

Orca opened up the door and saw her younger brother, Torrent, standing outside it. He was carrying a scroll in his claws, and looked somewhat exhausted.

 _Here_ , he flashed, holding out the scroll. Orca immediately saw that it was the one she had given him earlier, _Legends of the Lost Continent_. _Thank you for letting me borrow it,_ Torrent flashed gratefully in Aquatic. _I really liked it, do you have any more?_ The dragonet peeked his head beneath Orca's wing into the room, peering around as if he could see more scrolls from there.

 _I don't think I have any on the Lost Continent in my room, but I know there are more in the library,_ Orca replied back. _C'mon, I'll show you!_

She nudged her little brother out of the room, and locked it behind her. _This way!_

Orca started to swim the long passage that led to her room, Torrent right behind her.

 _So,_ Orca asked Torrent, excited to have a friend she could share converse with about their common interests, _who was your favorite character in the scroll?_

 _Talon the gryphon!_ Torrent replied with ease, not having to think about the answer. _He's so awesome! I loved the story about how he fought with the Hybrid Knight to defeat King Skullmaker, I just wish it could've been longer. Are there gryphons in Pyrrhia?_

Orca had to hold back a chuckle. _No, of course not! These are just legends, they're probably not real, and if they are, it happened a long time ago, even before the Scorching._

 _Oh,_ Torrent replied, with a disappointed expression on his snout. After a short but awkward silence, he spoke up again. _Who's your favorite?_

 _Hmm . . . I'd have to say the Hybrid Knight. I love how she goes around the Continent, foiling King Skullmaker's plans and defeating his evil lackeys at every turn. I know there are more scrolls about her and Talon in the library, I read them all a few years ago._

 _Really?_ asked Torrent, excited again.

Orca nodded in reply. _Here it is,_ she flashed, pointing a claw at the library entrance. Torrent carefully peeked into the room, and breathed a sigh of relief at whatever he saw or didn't see in there.

 _What is it?_ asked Orca, in a bit of concern for her brother.

 _Oh,_ Torrent replied, _I was just checking to make sure River wasn't there. I hate talking to her, she's such a clam-faced jerk._

 _You don't have to be scared of her, you know. She can't turn you into a squid._ Orca's eyes quickly darted to the amethyst inlaid in her golden bracelet. If River was actually an animus, Orca would've detected it by now.

 _Yeah, but she might be queen one day, and could have me exiled, or even executed,_ Torrent worried.

 _Over my cold dead body, that brat will be queen_. Thinking about how the royal challenge system worked, that wasn't too much of an exaggeration. If Orca failed in her eventual but almost certain challenge against Queen Coral, she would be killed by her own mother's claws.

Torrent smiled in gratitude. _Thanks,_ he replied, old enough to know that Orca could be meaning that literally. He swam into the library and looked around at the thousands of scrolls in awe. _There's so many! How can we find the ones with Talon?_

 _One of our Palace-Keepers puts all the scrolls in order. Over here,_ she directed Torrent, pointing him to a section on Lost Continent legends. _There should be a few on this shelf, but there might be a few others scattered about. Here, I think this one's might be what you're looking for!_

Orca pulled out a scroll and gave it to Torrent. The young prince opened the scroll to see its title, and nodded. _Yeah, it's exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much!_

Torrent wrapped a forearm and a wing around Orca as a hug. Orca returned the gesture, smiling. She hadn't really had many friends before.

There weren't many other dragonets around the Deep Palace, just her own siblings and Moray, Orca's cousin. While Moray was only a year younger than Orca, her only redeeming quality was that she despised River even more than Orca did. Unfortunately for her, Queen Coral was as fascinated with her niece almost as much as with her daughter River, and kept Moray around River as much as possible, thinking that they would make great friends (they didn't). While Orca had a good relationship with her older brothers, especially Rift, the twins had always tended to play with each other more than Orca. River, of course, Orca couldn't stand to talk too, much less be friends with.

 _Alright,_ Torrent flashed, breaking off from the hug, _I should go now. I have homework to do and want to get started reading._

 _Good idea,_ Orca replied. _Tell me how you like the scroll once you're done!_

Torrent nodded, and swam out of the library with the scroll, heading back to his room presumably. Orca decided she would do the same, and started swimming back to her own room. Even though the privacy was useful, there were disadvantages to having a room so estranged from the rest of the palace, the foremost being how long it took to get there and back. If she accidentally forgot a scroll in the library, it could take her almost twenty minutes to get it and come back swimming at a casual pace.

When she finally entered her room, she looked over her collection of statues. She had just recently finished her statue of Queen Atoll, Queen Coral's mother, and wasn't sure what she wanted to make next. She thought for a moment before an idea came to her.

Orca pulled out a large piece of parchment from her scrollshelf that she had been using to sketch out ideas. Although most of the scrolls that they read in the Deep Palace were coated with the waterproof resin, in order to write underwater, the SeaWings had the ingenious idea of creating black tinted paper, and placing a white film on top of it which would come off when scratched, revealing the black underneath and allowing one to write on it. Orca's parchment had a number of drawings and sketches on it of her previous sculpting projects, some which had been placed into reality, and others which had been long abandoned. Choosing an area without any scratches in it yet, Orca started to sketch out her design, glancing over the drawings at the scroll Torrent had returned to her every so often for reference.

* * *

Angler looked at his brother Rift, an expression of surprise across his face. The milky-green SeaWing frowned. _You want to do what?_

 _I'm going to join the war!_ Rift said. A joyous smile was across his face. _Isn't that great?_

The two were in a hallway of the Deep Palace. A large archway stood over the two dragons, making the palace seem even emptier than it already was. Many repairs of the ancient palace showed through the mismatched stone above. Unlike many of the other buildings of Pyrrhia, the Deep Palace had never been fully rebuilt, due to its location, but it still had to be periodically repaired or expanded upon.

 _How is that great?_ Angler replied worriedly.

 _What do you mean, how is it great?_ Rift asked. _I get to go out and make a difference in the world, just like Auntie Tempest! I'll meet a bunch of new friends, maybe even some SandWings and MudWings, and we'll travel all the way across Pyrrhia to fight for Queen Coral and the Sea Kingdom!_

Angler scoffed a little. _You mean you'll be flying across Pyrrhia for longer than you've ever flown before, through rain, heat, and snow, just to get a winged frozen off by an IceWing and to be left for dead by your 'friends.' Haven't you ever read soldier's diaries?_

 _Of course I have!_ Rift flashed, hissing. _I've read a ton, far more than you, I know that it's not going to be all easy, or fun! For one thing, I'm a prince, this is what I'm supposed to do, instead of swimming back and forth around the Deep Palace for the rest of my life._

 _You could get hurt; joining the war is an awful idea!_ Angler flashed back angrily.

 _It is not!_ Rift replied exasperatedly. _I can keep myself safe, and so what if I get some scratches here and there? It's not your choice anyways, I've already made my decision!_

Angler let a silent growl escape from his lips. _War is_ never _safe. You might not be on the front lines, but you'll certainly be in danger._

 _I will not!_ Rift replied. _I can fight, I've been training with some of the older dragons for years!_

 _You're a prince, you fight for fun,_ Angler snapped. _You don't get to be so selfish that you get to abandon me and the rest of the family for some clam-brained romanticized notions of war and martyrdom._

 _I'm the one being selfish?_ Rift hit his large SeaWing tail against the tile beneath him. _You're the one trying to keep me he—_

 _What's going on?_ interrupted a dragon. A large SeaWing, the color of thick green algae, swam into the room, frowning. Two golden bands decoratively wrapped around his front ankles. King Gill towered over his two sons, his forked tongue flicking between his teeth. _What is the meaning of this?_

 _Rift wants to join the war and become a martyr,_ Angler quickly flashed.

 _I do not!_ Rift flashed back. _I have no intention of dying!_ He turned to his father. _I want to join the war. I've been trained how to command. I could help end the war faster, I could—_

 _No,_ Gill issued. Angler smiled smugly next to him.

 _I would be an asset to the SeaWings!_ Rift protested. _I'm seven now; I'm an adult! I'm a prince, eventually I'll be a commander like Uncle Shark! This is the perfect time to start training for that!_

 _You're still too young,_ Gill replied, _and this war has been brutal so far. Maybe in a few years._

 _I don't need to wait a few years! I'm old enough now!_

Gill sighed. _This is for your own good. You're far too reckless, and are bound to get first._ Angler nodded as Gill was flashing in Aquatic, agreeing with his father.

 _Stop treating me like I'm still a dragonet!_ Rift angrily flashed. He turned his back, and swam off in a storm from his father and brother.

The waves of Rift's departure slowly passed over Angler and Gill. Angler glanced up at his father. _Should we go after him?_ he asked.

 _No,_ Gill shook his head. _He'll calm down before long. He's not going to go anywhere._

Angler nodded. There was a short pause. _Is it true that Rift is eventually going to become a commander?_ he asked.

Gill nodded solemnly. _Yes, if he chooses to. He's a prince, and will be the next queen's brother. A high-ranking job in the army is a traditional job for princes and princesses of royal families._

Angler frowned. He knew his brother, and Rift couldn't make a good commander. He was far too headstrong, and didn't think enough before acting. He would be bound to get himself injured, or worse. Maybe there was a way for Angler to convince Rift of the same.


	5. Chapter 4

It had been two weeks since Orca had taken Torrent to the library. Orca knew that it was a bit risky to show Torrent the statue completed so soon, but she hoped that he wouldn't get suspicious at how quickly she had finished it. She caught up with her brother by his room.

Torrent's room was much closer to the rest of the palace than her own. His room wasn't in the same cluster as Coral, Gill, and River's rooms, but was in a small corridor escaping from their hallway. When Orca got to the doorway, she knocked her claws on the stone slab of his door. When no one responded, she attempted to turn the doorknob to open it. Pushing the water behind the door away, it creaked open with little resistance. Unlike Orca's own room, Torrent's didn't appear to have a lock.

Orca peered in, but didn't see Torrent in there. Suddenly, she felt a claw tap on her back. She ruffled her wings in surprise and turned around.

 _Hello,_ Torrent flashed in Aquatic, unsure why his sister was looking into his room.

 _So sorry!_ Orca replied, embarrassed that she had been caught peeking into Torrent's room without permission. _I was looking for you, and thought you might be here._

Torrent nodded understandingly. _What for?_ he asked, curious.

 _Oh! I have a surprise back in my room for you!_

Torrent frowned. _What sort of surprise?_

 _Don't worry, it's good. I made you a gift!_ Orca reassured her younger brother.

Torrent thought for a moment. _Alright, let me set down my scrolls first._ The SeaWing prince brushed past his older sister into his room, and placed down a few scrolls from school he was carrying. He turned around, and followed Orca out, closing his door carefully behind him.

As the two started the swim down the long path to Orca's lair, Orca glanced over at Torrent. He was unusually grim and silent.

 _What's wrong?_ Orca asked. _You seem quiet._

Torrent shrugged his wingblades. _It's nothing._

 _Oh,_ Orca replied, unsure how she should respond. Torrent didn't seem comfortable with telling her whatever it was. She could understand that, there were plenty of things she couldn't tell her family, specifically her powers.

The two continued swimming down the passage in silence, the gloomy ceiling of the castle looming above them, like a sea of clouds on a cold and rainy day. The gentle drone of rushing water swept past their ears as they swam onwards.

Orca thought for a moment. Maybe she should try again to get Torrent to open up about whatever was bothering him.

 _Are you sure it's nothing?_ she asked.

Torrent didn't reply for a moment, and looked away from Orca uncomfortably. _It's River,_ he finally flashed back, _she's angry that Mother is too busy with the council to give her attention._

 _And she's taking it out on you?_ Orca guessed.

Torrent nodded slowly in affirmation.

 _Well, tell her that she shouldn't be such a clam-brained brat,_ Orca snapped. _And that she can go choke on a sea urchin for all you care._

Torrent smiled slightly and rolled his eyes.

 _No, seriously!_ Orca continued. _It's completely true, I'll bet that if we replaced her with a clam one day, Whirlpool would hardly notice! Now, that dragon's too busy picking the sand between Coral's claws to notice if an octopus crawled up his nose, but still!_

Torrent chuckled. Orca was completely right about Whirlpool, he'd do anything for Coral; it was almost pitiful. _You know River would just go and tell mother if I said that._

 _Then I'll just go and tell mother that she said something even nastier first. I'm older, so of course she'll believe me._

Torrent thought for a moment, smiling. _You know that would be lying. You shouldn't lie._

 _Well, it's not like she hasn't said anything nastier to you before, right?_

Torrent tapped a claw in thought and shrugged.

 _See?_ Orca flashed. _It would totally be fair, and maybe she'd finally start learning some manners._

 _Of course, there are other things I could do to River,_ Orca thought to herself. Maybe a small enchantment to make her scales itch wildly whenever she was rude to anyone would do the trick . . . no. Orca knew that it would be wrong to use her animus powers to hurt someone else. But it would be so easy . . .

 _I guess I could try,_ Torrent replied. He gently smiled at his older sister as the two approached Orca's door.

 _Alright, close your eyes,_ Orca flashed to Torrent, shaking away her previous train of thought. _No peeking!_

She opened the door, and guided Torrent through the doorway into her room. Grabbing her brother's claws, she peeled them away from his eyes. _Tada!_ she flashed.

In front of Torrent stood a light-grey marble statue of a gryphon. The top of the gryphon's ruffled head reached about the bottom of Torrent's wingblades, maybe a quarter the height of a full-grown dragon. The statue's head had intricate feathers up against its neck and head, with two long triangular ears poking out the back, and a sharp beak on the front. It had four legs, just like a dragon, and carefully carved talons at the end of each. It's feathery wings were folded up against it's body, and it was looking up at Torrent almost expectantly, as if it were asking him some question no one knew the answer to.

Torrent looked back at the gryphon in a happy shock. _Wow_ , he flashed. _This is amazing!_

Orca grinned back in humility. _You really think so?_

 _Yeah!_ Torrent replied. _He's so awesome! Thank you so much!_ He swam up to his older sister and wrapped a wing around her in gratitude.

Orca smiled. _You're welcome. I hope you like him._

 _I love him!_ Torrent flashed back. _How did you make him so quickly?_

Orca's smile suddenly dropped. She was unsure how to respond. The only reason she had been able to make the statue so quickly was because of her animus magic, and she couldn't tell Torrent about _that_.

But, she didn't want to lie to him, not to her friend, not again. Orca recalled what Torrent had said when she had suggested lying to their mother about River: _You know that would be lying. You shouldn't lie._ Torrent had told her the truth about River being mean, hadn't he? She shouldn't return the favor by lying right to his snout.

Orca knew she could lie, she had done it a thousand times before, to her mother, to her father, even to Rift. It had almost become second nature. She could easily just claim _I worked day and night_ or blame it on "artist's luck" or something like that; Torrent would believe her, and even if he didn't, he wouldn't guess the truth. But Orca didn't want to lie, she was done lying. And Torrent was her brother, her friend, she could trust him, right? If not, she could always just wipe it from his memories somehow, could her animus magic do that? It probably could, if worst came to worst. She was settled. She would tell Torrent.

 _Umm . . . magic,_ Orca replied.

 _Oh, I see,_ Torrent joked. _Don't want to give away your secret, do you?_ He rolled his eyes at what he thought was Orca's insincerity. _Don't worry, I won't share._

It wasn't too late to turn back. Torrent was almost giving her an opportunity at a second chance. But Orca was done hiding her secret. Why did he have to make it so hard for her?

 _No, I'm serious. I enchanted some of my chisels to make things go quicker._

Gulping down her fear, Orca held her breath in apprehension, and hoped for the best.

 _Wait, you're serious?_ Torrent asked in shock. He blinked a few times, as if he were attempting to make sure this wasn't a dream. _As in, magical enchantments? Animus enchantments?_

Orca slowly nodded, her head barely moving up and down.

Torrent let out a small chuckle. _This is a joke, right? You're going to say something like, 'haha, fooled you' as soon as I believe you, aren't you?_

Orca shook her head. She realized that Torrent would need actual proof in front of his own two eyes to believe her. She looked over to a scroll on her scrollshelf. Under her breath, she muttered, "Enchant that scroll to bring itself over in front of Torrent." The scroll followed her directions to expert precision, quickly pushing the water in front of it aside to float in front of Torrent's snout.

 _Whoa!_ Torrent flashed, startled. He quickly jumped away from the scroll. For a few moments, he just stood there, looking back and forth between Orca and the scroll.

After an uncomfortable silence, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _So it's true._

Orca nodded grimly. This wasn't going as well as she had hoped.

 _Does anyone else know? Rift? Mother? Father?_

 _No,_ Orca flashed.

Torrent started pacing back and forth around Orca's room. After a moment which felt like an eternity, he stopped. _That's . . . cool._

Torrent still looked a bit surprised, but that was to be expected. _Are you scared of me?_ Orca asked in concern.

Her younger brother thought for a moment before answering. _I guess, you do have practically unlimited power, right? But you're still my sister, and I know you wouldn't use your powers to hurt anyone._

Was that really true? Orca had hurt River during the Talons of Power Ceremony with her powers. Would she do that again? What if next time, she even killed a dragon?

On the outside, Orca smiled and nodded. _Yeah,_ she flashed. She had done it again. Lied. Wasn't that the whole point of telling Torrent about her powers? So she didn't have to lie to him anymore?

Torrent looked at her, then at the statue. He appeared to be deep in thought.

 _What is it?_ Orca questioned.

 _Well, I was wondering, would it be alright if you enchanted something for me?_ Torrent looked slightly uncomfortable asking her the question.

Orca cocked her head to the side, wondering what her little brother wanted. _I guess? I mean, sure, what is it?_ Even if Torrent wanted her to enchant something, that was to be expected. Orca was just glad that he had accepted her powers.

 _Well . . . can you enchant the gryphon statue to come to life?_

Orca blinked in surprise. It didn't seem like too harmful an enchantment; there were worse things Torrent could've asked for. _I don't know,_ Orca honestly replied. _I haven't enchanted something to life before; I don't even know if that's possible. But I'll try._

 _Really?_ Torrent flashed, practically bursting in excitement. A huge grin was spread across his snout.

Orca nodded. She looked at the statue and took in a deep breath. "Statue, I enchant you to turn into a real gryphon," she whispered into the seawater.

For a moment, it looked like nothing was happening. Suddenly, the marble started to gloss over, and change colors, leaving behind what was no longer a dull statue. The solid, brittle feathers were now delicate and rich with color, being pushed too and fro by the motion of the water they were entrenched in. A golden beak protruded from the gryphon's snout, and motion had entered the gryphon's long claws.

Torrent suddenly glanced over at Orca, and saw her staggering around. _Are you alright?_ he asked.

 _Y-yeah, I'm fine,_ Orca flashed, clearly not fine. _I just need to lie down for a moment, that's all._ She felt dizzy and tired, as if someone had hit her head with a large stone. Her vision was blurry. Unable to hold herself up on four legs anymore, the SeaWing princess flopped to the ground, the water gently carrying her body to the stone, landing it with a soft thud.

Suddenly, the gryphon, now alive, started to clutch at his throat. Water was pouring into his lungs, and the gill-less creature was drowning. The gryphon struggled out, his wings flapping and his claws scratching at his feathery neck. In his first few moments of life, the gryphon was going to die.

It took only moments for Torrent to notice the poor bird's plight, and not having any other options, the SeaWing furiously shook his sister, flashing all his stripes on and off in terror and yelling as loud as he could through the water in a hope to wake Orca up.

Fortunately for the poor gryphon, Orca was still conscious enough to notice Torrent's alarm, and in her daze, was able to see the gryphon. Mustering all her willpower to keep herself awake, she muttered, "I enchant the gryphon to breath water," before feeling another pang of pain. The previous two enchantments having taken far too much of a toll on her body, Orca sank into unconsciousness.

For the gryphon, her enchantment was just in time. He took his first breath of oxygen, and gasped in shock. He continued hyperventilating like this for a minute or two, trembling in fear. He had been plunged into this world only to almost leave as quickly as he had arrived.

He had no idea where he was, or who he was. Wherever he was, it felt unnatural and frightening. He needed to get out. The gryphon looked around the room, and saw a closed door, leading to what might be the outside, he scrambled towards it, attempting to paddle through the water.

When the gryphon finally reached the door, he clawed against it, long scratch marks raking through the wood. He continued this for a while in his terror, before he tired, and his claws settled.

Meanwhile, Torrent looked on in shame. This was his fault. The poor creature he had asked Orca to create was now confused and frightened, while Orca herself lay unconscious on the ground, having overexerted her powers. Torrent shook her a few times with her claws, but received no response. He looked down at her gills and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them gently opening and closing. Still, he was worried. He didn't know if or when Orca would wake up.

It took around half an hour for Orca to finally wake. During that time, Torrent stayed in the room with the gryphon and Orca. He attempted to swim over to the gryphon a few times, but all he got in return was an unfriendly hiss.

When Orca finally stirred, Torrent immediately rushed over to her.

 _Orca, are you alright?_ he flashed in concern. Orca just groaned in response. It took a few minutes for her to recover and get back up.

 _Remind me not to enchant things to life ever again,_ Orca groaned, clutching her head with a paw. _How long was I out?_

Torrent shrugged. _A while,_ he said in shame. This wouldn't had happened if he hadn't asked Orca to enchant the statue for him.

Orca nodded. _I'm alright,_ she flashed, reassuring Torrent, _just a little dazed._ She looked over to the gryphon, huddled in the corner by the door. _What about him?_ she asked Torrent.

 _He freaked out and has been like that since._

Orca nodded and walked over to the gryphon. He hissed angrily and snapped his beak at Orca. She ruffled her wings and moved back, startled. Thinking for a moment, she turned to Torrent. _Can he speak?_ she asked.

Torrent shook his head. _He's been quiet the whole time._

Orca nodded. She was feeling less dizzy right now, and thought she might be up to this. Taking in a deep breath through her gills, she said, "I enchant the gryphon to have the intelligence to speak language, to be able to do so, above and underwater, and to be able to understand Aquatic."

The familiar dizziness washed over her, but less so than before. For a moment, a cold shiver went through Orca's scales, but then was washed away. She stood her ground, and after a few moments, the dizziness subsided. She was glad. Hopefully that would stop happening the more she used her powers.

Afterwards the enchantment, the gryphon stood still, unsure what was going on. Torrent stepped back, unsure as to exactly what Orca had said.

"What have you done to me?" the gryphon raspily shouted in bewilderment.

 _Calm down,_ Orca flashed. _It's going to be alright._  
"Alright? What is alright about this? Where am I?"

Orca paused for a moment before turning to Torrent.

Torrent gulped. _You're in the Deep Palace, underwater. You're a gryphon, and we're all SeaWings. Dragons._ He wasn't sure what else to say.

The gryphon looked around nervously, shaking. "Who are you?"

 _I'm Prince Torrent,_ Torrent replied, _but you can call me Torrent. This is my sister, Princess Orca._

The gryphon was still shaking, but seemed slightly calmer now. "Who am I?"

Torrent thought for a moment. Calling the gryphon Talon just seemed wrong, but he didn't know of any other good gryphon names. _Griffin?_ Torrent replied. Griffin didn't seem to have a problem with this, or if he did, Torrent didn't notice.

Griffin glanced from side to side, finally a bit more calm. His breathing had slowed to a normal pace.

"Why am I here?" Griffin asked.

 _I brought you to life,_ Orca uncomfortably replied.

"But why?"

Orca turned to Torrent for an explanation. Torrent wasn't exactly sure of the answer himself. _I wanted another friend?_ he replied, not sure if that was the correct answer.

"How do I be a friend?"

Torrent wasn't sure of that answer either. He glanced at Orca for an answer, but she shrugged her wingblades in uncertainty. _We can talk about things, if you'd like that. Stories and mean sisters and other stuff._

"I don't know if I'd like that."

 _Oh,_ Torrent flashed, slightly hurt, _then what do you like? We can do that._

"I don't know what I like."

Torrent wasn't exactly sure what Griffin liked either. _Well, what makes you happy?_

"I don't know. Do I like being happy?"

 _Yeah, everyone likes being happy._

Griffin seemed even more confused at this, but appeared to accept it. An attempt at a smile appeared from his beak. "Alright, I'll be happy then."

 _That's good,_ Torrent replied, now extremely confused himself at this sudden change. How did one just choose to become happy? He looked at Orca, unsure what to do. _Now what?_ he asked Griffin. _Are you hungry?_

"No," Griffin replied. "But I'm tired."

Torrent nodded. _Where should he sleep?_ he asked Orca.

 _Your room is fine,_ Orca flashed back. She was exhausted. It would probably be a good idea to sleep and regain the energy she had used via animus magic. _Tell mother I went to bed early,_ she flashed to Torrent, yawning.

Torrent nodded, and glanced back at Griffin, who was curiously examining his claws. _Let's go, there shouldn't be anyone in the hallways right now, they're all planning a meeting or something._

Griffin nodded, and still smiling, swam after Torrent.


	6. Chapter 5

Claws rapped against Rift's door. Not wanting to talk to whoever it was outside, be it Gill or Angler, Rift didn't answer. The claws rapped against it again. After a third rap, the door slowly opened, revealing Gill as the knocker. The humongous king lumbered in.

Rift glared at his father. _What do you want?_ he flashed in Aquatic.

Gill sighed. _I thought a little bit about what you said earlier, and I decided to let you join the war._ A conflicted grimace was plastered onto his face.

An expression of surprise washed over Rift's snout. He hadn't expected his father to change his mind. _Why?_ he asked, confused.

 _You are right in that being a prince, your place is leading the army, if you so choose that path._

Rift smiled, pushing back a smug grin. He hadn't his father to show reason, but he was grateful that he had. Gill was right. Rift was a SeaWing prince, and leading the SeaWing forces into war to protect his kingdom was not only his birthright, but his duty. If Angler wanted to help his kingdom in other ways, then good for him, but he had no right to try and stop Rift from performing his purpose. _When do I start?_ Rift asked apprehensively.

 _Your mother is meeting with Queen Moorhen and Queen Blister in a week for war planning. You can join us in the meetings and we can discuss your role with the queens there, if you still want to._

Gill appeared to think that this was some passing whim of Rift's. Rift felt slighted, he had been wanting to join the army for years now, but he knew his father wouldn't even consider it until he was of age. _And I will,_ he flashed back.

Gill frowned, with a look that said, "We'll see," then abruptly turned and left the room. Rift shut the door after his father left. It might do him good to find out a little more about Queen Moorhen and Blister, if he was going to join them.

* * *

Torrent worriedly glanced at Orca. Although he and Orca had thought she'd completely recovered from her overuse of animus magic, now Torrent wasn't so sure. For the past few days, Orca had been lethargically resting in her room, too tired to leave, or basically do anything other than rest and read. The two weren't sure if it was the animus magic, or just a common sickness, but either way Orca was completely exhausted. Torrent had been getting her scrolls from the library on request, but most of the time she just wanted to sleep. Fortunately, this allowed him to spend more time getting to know Griffin.

Griffin appeared to have recovered from his creation and then near death, and instead of being anxious and frightened, he had changed to being joyful and curious. He was constantly asking Torrent about the world they lived in, and although he desperately wanted to leave Torrent's room, Torrent wouldn't let him, telling Griffin that the other dragons might try and hurt him and Orca if they found out about him.

Torrent liked Griffin, but found him a bit confusing. It surprised him how much of what Torrent knew he took for granted. Some of the things Torrent told Griffin were considered basic, such as having to explain that all the tribes were all dragons, and could breed with each other, but they looked very different. Other of Griffin's questions were stranger, such as when he asked Torrent if he just disappeared whenever Griffin blinked.

Yet, the hardest question Torrent had been forced to answer was when Griffin asked him where the other gryphons were.

 _Oh, gryphons don't exist,_ Torrent replied naïvely.

"I thought I was a gryphon?" Griffin asked. "Don't I exist?"

 _Well,_ Torrent said, _you're not really a real gryphon. You're just a statue that Orca enchanted._

Griffin found this alarming, unsurprisingly, making Torrent wish Orca had explained it to Griffin instead of him. _I mean,_ Torrent corrected himself, _you're a real gryphon sort of, since Orca made you one, but you're not a normal gryphon._

Torrent and Griffin had more conversations like this at first, but they slowly started to decrease in frequency. They started talking more about Orca, or the scrolls on the Lost Continent Torrent had been reading. It was nice, having a friend Torrent could talk to. With Orca, Torrent felt like he was somehow below her, and not just in age. It occasionally seemed like he was talking to a superior. With Griffin, things were different.

At this moment, Griffin was alone in Torrent's room, and Torrent was bringing Orca another batch of scrolls. He glanced at her in concern. _Are you alright?_ he asked.

Orca nodded. _Yeah, I think I'm getting better,_ she said with a faint smile. _You don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine._

Torrent sighed. This was all his fault. If he hadn't asked Orca his stupid selfish wish about bringing Griffin to life, none of this ever would have happened. _Is there anything else I can get you?_

Orca shook her head. _I'm good, thank you._

Torrent looked around the room uncomfortably. His eyes landed on a scroll on Orca's desk. He went over to it, and scanned it. It appeared to be a guide on animuses and animus magic. He wondered how old the scroll was. It didn't look too old, but it might have been a copy of an older scroll.

 _Don't read that!_ Orca suddenly flashed, seeing Torrent. Torrent frowned, and backed away from the scroll, just more curious than before. _It's . . . not very good,_ Orca explained, her lie clearly showing through her lethargy. Torrent nodded, pretending to believe her.

Torrent swam over to Orca, and looked down on her again. _Are you sure there's nothing I can get you? Do you need food?_

Orca smiled thankfully. _I'm not very hungry, but thank you._ She attempted to stifle a yawn, before succumbing to it, closing her eyes to rest. Within a few moments, Orca was fast asleep, her gills slowly closing and opening.

Torrent glanced back at the scroll and frowned. He wondered what Orca had wanted to hide in it. His curiosity getting the better of him, Torrent took the chance Orca's sleep had caused and swam over to the scroll. He read a small portion of it:

"The usage of animus magic is known to have multiple effects on the user, which we will later explain in more detail. The first is a kind of exhaustion, especially common among young or inexperienced animus dragons. The second, and more well-known effect, is a slow and creeping paranoia which grows each time the animus uses their powers. This accompanies a greater reliance on the animus's powers, and a greater willingness to use them for violent and immoral means that the animus might not otherwise use their powers for. The effect is more commonly known as 'losing one's soul,' the phrase stemming from ancient theories and legends of animuses 'bargaining' their souls to a higher power in order to enchant objects. Whether or not the phrase should be taken literally, there have been numerous accounts of animus dragons experiencing this effect, the most well known case being the Royal SeaWing Massacre caused by Albatross."

Torrent gulped in fear, and glanced back at Orca. He knew about the Royal SeaWing Massacre, all royal SeaWings did. He had just thought that Albatross had gone power-crazed, not that he had lost his soul, or whatever. What if the same thing was happening to Orca? He had made her overuse her powers, what if she was going to kill his family now? No, that couldn't happen, Orca seemed completely normal. Maybe the scroll was wrong?

Torrent rolled up the scroll. He would read more about the subject back in his room, this was important. He opened Orca's door, and shut it gently behind him, so not to wake her.

After the long swim back to his room, he opened it. Griffin was inside, sitting happily on Torrent's bed. He waved happily to the young SeaWing, grinning. Torrent smiled back politely, then swam to his bed and rolled open the scroll, being careful not to rip the paper with his claws. He set some small reading stones on each corner to keep the scroll from rolling up or floating.

"What's that?" Griffin asked.

 _A scroll,_ Torrent replied, not knowing if Griffin knew what scrolls were or not. _It's for writing down and preserving information or stories._

"Huh," Griffin mused. "What's on the scroll?"

 _I'm not sure yet,_ Torrent flashed, _but I think it's about animus dragons. Orca didn't want me to read it._

Griffin thought for a moment. "Why did you read it then?"  
Torrent thought for a moment. _I thought it might teach us how to make Orca well again._

"That makes sense!" Griffin squawked. Torrent was still unsure how Griffin was able to talk underwater, but he guessed it was just the power of animus magic.

Torrent dragged a claw along the scroll, to focus in on what he thought was the relevant section. He frowned. _The scroll says that animus dragons lose their souls and go insane the more they use magic._

"What if that's why Orca didn't want you to read the scroll? She didn't want you to know she had lost her soul and gone all crazy."

 _No, she wouldn't do that!_ Torrent replied. At least, that was what he hoped. Yet, a snaking strand of suspicion had burrowed its way to his heart. What if Orca had already gone insane?

Griffin shrugged and ruffled the feathers on his neck. He didn't seem convinced.

Torrent bared his fangs at the scroll. _It doesn't say how to cure it!_ he flashed in frustration.

"Is there a way to cure it?" Griffin asked skeptically.

 _Of course there is!_ There had to be, or else Orca would go insane! Orca wasn't the first animus, there had to be others who had found a way to prevent the insanity.

 _I'm going to the library,_ Torrent notified Griffin. _I'm going to find some more scrolls with more information._

"Oh," Griffin replied, disappointed that Torrent was leaving him so soon. "Well, good luck."

Torrent nodded, and left the room in a flash, swimming towards the library. He needed to fix this. What if it was already too late, and Orca had already lost her soul? No, that couldn't have happened. She hadn't used _that_ much magic, had she?

Torrent got to the library, and looked around the area. He wasn't sure where to start. The section on magic and the paranormal looked like a good place. He swam up to the shelves, and pulled off a few of the scrolls in a hurry. Eventually, he found one that looked relevant, it was a compilation of a few legends, some of them with animus dragons in them. He looked through the scroll, reading through the relevant legends. No luck. All of the legends either had the animus lose their soul at the end, not use animus magic, or the story ignored the whole soul thing altogether. Torrent didn't care that the ancient IceWings only used their magic once, Orca had already used it multiple times.

The pattern continued in the other scrolls Torrent read, and Torrent couldn't find anything helpful. There were a few cases in which the animus had created some sort of charm to prevent them from losing their soul, but all of them ended up insane anyways. Torrent didn't know if these were just stories or actual events, but either way, it wasn't helpful. After reading through what he felt like was all the scrolls in the library, Torrent remembered the time. It had been hours, and Orca was probably awake by now. He needed to go check up on her, and get her food if she was hungry.

Torrent left the library in defeat, heading towards Orca's room. What if Griffin was right, and Orca had tried to prevent Torrent from reading the scroll because she had already lost her soul? The scroll! Torrent had left it in his room with Griffin. He thought about turning back to go get it, but he was already at Orca's door. She'd probably still be in her bed anyways, and wouldn't have noticed. Torrent slowly opened the door to Orca's room.

Orca was standing, wide awake, in the middle of the room. She saw Torrent, and glanced back at the empty desk where the scroll was. She clearly had noticed. Orca sighed and ground her pointed teeth together. She rubbed her wing up against her gills in discomfort.

 _Did you take the scroll?_ she asked Torrent.

Torrent nodded and gulped a lump down his throat. He glanced behind him nervously before turning back to Orca.

Orca groaned. _Look, don't worry, my soul is fine. I'm fine. I haven't used anywhere near enough magic to get to the point where I would hurt you, or anyone else._

Torrent relaxed a little bit. She looked and sounded fine. Her soul was still intact. _Why didn't you want me to know?_ he asked.

 _I just wanted to explain it to you myself. I didn't want you to be scared of me or anything._

Torrent nodded. It still felt like Orca wasn't telling him something, but that made sense. _So, do you know how to stop it?_

 _No,_ Orca replied matter-of-factly. _There isn't a way, I just have to not use a ton of animus magic, and it will be fine._

Torrent wondered how much animus magic Orca had already used before she told him. There was her sculpting tools, of course, but he didn't know of any other enchantments she had made. _Are you sure there's no way? Maybe you could enchant something to protect your soul?_ Torrent really doubted that would work, and he could tell from the look on Orca's face that she felt the same. If couldn't just be that easy, could it?

Orca shrugged, flashed, _Well, it's worth a try, I suppose,_ and pulled off the golden amethyst-inlaid bracelet that she wore. Torrent couldn't really make out what she next said through the water, but he guessed it was something along the lines of enchanting the bracelet to keep the wearer's soul intact. Orca put the bracelet back on.

Torrent smiled, feigning content. _Well, hopefully that does the trick._

Orca smiled in return. _I'm going to go to the kitchens to find some food to eat now. I don't think I've eaten in awhile, I've felt so bad. Do you want to join me?_

 _Sure!_ Torrent flashed back. Even with all this soul business, the SeaWing prince was still grateful that his sister was feeling better.

Pretending as if the situation was over, the two dragonets left Orca's room to head to the kitchens, swimming side by side.


	7. Chapter 6

While Torrent was in the library, his other sister, River, was having problems of her own.

 _C'mon Moray, give me the stupid scroll!_ River flashed desperately.

Moray stuck her tongue out at her younger cousin in reply and twitched her pale green tail. _Nah-ah, you're going to have to suffer through Whirlpool's homework just like I did._

River fumed. She had to turn in a math assignment to Whirlpool the next day, and she had no idea how to complete her homework. Moray bragged that Whirlpool had tutored her in the same subject last year, and that she had a fully completed copy of the assignment, but she refused to give it to River.

 _When I'm queen, I'm going to make you take classes with Whirlpool for the rest of your life!_ River threatened.

Moray scoffed, puckering her snout in faux pity. _You're never going to be queen. Orca is going to challenge Coral before you. You'll just have to live as a weak, powerless sister of a queen for the rest of your life, however short it might be. I, on the other claw, am going to be a Council Member to Queen Orca._

River growled and bared her teeth in anger. She wouldn't take this from Moray anymore. River roared through the water and leapt at her cousin, claws outstretched. She landed, scratching at Moray's gills.

Moray suddenly turned around, and a hunk of tail came flying at River's skull. It hit, knocking her across the small room. River lay on the ground, clutching at where Moray hit and squinting an eye. Moray snorted. _How can a runt like you expect to defeat Coral when you can't even touch me?_

Moray swam away until the last glint of green-grey scale disappeared. River got up off the stone floor and looked at her royal violet claws. She couldn't ever fight her mother or Orca for the throne, she'd be torn to bits within seconds. Moray was right, River was the runt of the family.

River wouldn't cry. A queen didn't cry. A queen was strong, and would stand up to her enemies. And right now, that was her schoolwork. Concocting a plan to take the throne from Orca's grasping claws could wait.

The SeaWing princess thought about what to do. If she couldn't complete her homework, and Moray wouldn't help, she had to ask someone else. Whirlpool taught Torrent together with her, maybe he could help. As much as she hated asking a brother who fraternized with her enemy (Orca, of course, Moray was just Coral's niece and didn't deserve the title of enemy), River didn't really see any other options at the moment.

River swam down to Torrent's room. She hadn't seen him much recently, her brother was taking care of Orca. Maybe Orca would get sick and die, so River would be able to challenge Mother unopposed and in her own time. But that was too much to hope for.

River knocked on Torrent's door. She thought she might have heard a rustle of water inside, but she wasn't sure. She waited a few moments, but there was still no response. Torrent didn't appear to be in his room at the moment. River thought for a moment. Torrent was a better student than her, he had probably already completed his homework for tomorrow. If so, River could look at it and copy it. She grinned; she was such a great problem solver.

She slowly opened his door. Fortunately for her, it had no lock. _Torrent, are you there?_ she flashed. There was no answer. She stepped inside the room and looked around. Sure enough, there were a few scrolls scattered around the room. There was one still open on his bed. River swam over to it, hoping that it would be Torrent's homework.

Suddenly, River thought she heard another rustle of water by the bed, like there was something in his room. She looked around quickly to make sure Torrent hadn't returned. He hadn't. It was probably just a stray fish or something that had gotten into the palace. She looked over at the scroll. It appeared to be about animus dragons and their souls.

River felt a pang of frustration. She had hoped so badly to be an animus at the ceremony. If only she was, she could enchant her something that would let her defeat Coral or Orca and become queen. She clenched her teeth in anger.

Not seeing Torrent's homework on the scroll, River moved on to his desk. There was a scroll rolled closed on it that looked promising. River opened it and smiled. It was the math homework that she needed. She took out her own homework scroll and opened it. Quickly as she could, she copied over the answers. Once done, she rolled the scroll close and put it exactly as she had been. She then turned to leave the room.

River noticed something strange on the floor, a feather. She wondered how a feather got down here, there weren't any birds that lived _in_ the ocean. Did Torrent bring it back from the Summer Palace? Frowning, she picked it up and looked closer at it. Something about it just felt off, and touching it sent a cold shiver through River. It just seemed too perfectly made, no kinks or bends. It gave River a strange sense of déjà vu, like she had seen something like it before. She remembered the rock that she had found on the beach during her Talons of Power Ceremony. It was similar to that.

She shrugged and kept the feather between her talons. It was just a neat feather, that was it. Maybe the water preserved it well. Even though she felt a pang of doubt at her theory, River left Torrent's room to head back to her own. She didn't want to get caught by anyone.

* * *

Torrent opened the door to his room, Orca following close behind him. With a scramble of feathers, Griffin swam under Torrent's bed, leaving behind only a trail of feathers.

 _Griffin?_ Torrent asked. _What's wrong?_

Griffin peeked his head out, looking relieved. "Sorry, I was worried it was the purple dragon again."

 _The purple dragon?_ Orca asked. _Does he mean River?_

Torrent thought about it for a moment. As far as he knew, River was the only purple SeaWing living in the palace. _Did she have midnight-blue stripes and starbursts beneath her wings?_

Griffin paused, then nodded, confirming Orca's guess.

 _Why was she in here?_ Orca asked.

"She came in, read a scroll on your desk, then left." Griffin showed Torrent to the particular scroll.

Torrent sighed. It was his math homework. River must've been trying to copy off it. _Did she see you?_ he asked Griffin.

Griffin shook his head. Orca was relieved; questions would be asked if Griffin was found, and Orca's powers would probably be discovered.

"She didn't see me, I hid, but she found one of my feathers." Griffin replied. This was worrying. What if River found Griffin and put the pieces together? _No, she couldn't do that,_ Orca reassured herself. _That's far too unlikely._

 _We should move Griffin down to my room,_ Orca flashed. _It was stupid of me to suggest putting him up here; my room has a lock, and Torrent and I are really the only ones that go by it._

Torrent nodded. Orca was right. As much as he wanted to keep Griffin in his room, moving him would be much more safe.

Griffin himself looked a bit worried.

 _Don't worry,_ Torrent flashed, _Orca is nice, and I can still visit all the time._

"That's not my worry," Griffin replied. "How long will it be before River finds out about me?"

 _Hopefully never,_ Orca replied, _as long as we keep you hidden._

Griffin nodded, a little dismayed. He didn't appear to like the idea of being cooped up in Orca's room forever.

 _Alright,_ Orca flashed, _this is probably a good time to move Griffin, since most of the family is eating dinner now. I'll go scout out the area, and Torrent, take Griffin and follow._

Moving Griffin down to Orca's room went all as planned, fortunately, and no one saw him. The three breathed a collective sigh of relief as they closed Orca's door behind them.

 _What should we do with Griffin during the meetings?_ Torrent asked.

 _Meetings?_ Orca replied, confused. _What meetings?_

Torrent had forgotten that Orca was sick, and no one would've told her about them. _Queen Coral is meeting with Queen Moorhen and Queen Blister to discuss the war in a week. It'll be for two weeks at the Summer Palace, and she expects us to come along with her._

Orca frowned. Did Torrent expect to bring Griffin to the meetings with them? That seemed like a bad idea. Yet, if they didn't, Griffin would be alone in the Deep Palace for two weeks. She glanced over at Griffin; he had a hopeful look on his face as he looked up at her. Orca sighed.

 _We can bring Griffin with us, I suppose. I'll go to the Summer Palace a few days early with him, and find an unused room to put him in._

Griffin grinned, thankful that he wouldn't have to spend two weeks alone in Orca's room.

 _Great!_ Torrent flashed.

Orca suddenly had a great idea. _I can enchant Griffin to be invisible to those who we haven't told about him,_ she suggested, _that way he'll have no chance of being seen._

Torrent opened his mouth slightly, frowning in shock. Orca was confused. What was the problem with her plan? It seemed perfect.

 _No!_ Torrent flashed, almost angrily. _No more enchantments! You know what the scroll said: you'll lose your soul and go insane! If we can hide Griffin without using your magic, then we should do it._

Orca clenched her teeth slightly. She didn't think she had lost that much of her soul; she hadn't noticed anything wrong. It wasn't like she had made that many enchantments, had she? But since Torrent felt strongly about it, so as long as Griffin was kept out of danger of being seen, she wouldn't enchant Griffin. Even though it would be so easy, and fully solve all their problems.

 _Fine,_ Orca replied, letting out a little bit more frustration in her voice than she intended. _No magic._

Torrent breathed in relief. He didn't think Orca had lost too much of her soul, but every enchantment she made was another step down the slope to insanity, and he didn't know how many steps she had to go before she would fall off the edge and end up like Albatross.

Torrent's snout suddenly lit up. _Maybe we could ask Moorhen and Blister about scrolls on animus magic! They're bound to have some, especially Moorhen. The MudWings have a few libraries, don't they?_

Orca thought for a moment. She thought that they did. The MudWings hadn't had any animus dragons since Queen Fen, they murdered them all if they hatched, but they might have information. What if one of their scrolls held the secret to saving Orca's soul? Was that too much to hope for?

 _That sounds good, but what if the queens get suspicious?_ Orca asked.

 _In that case, I can just tell them it's for a school project or something like that._

Orca nodded. If there was a chance that it could save her soul and let her continue using animus magic, she would try it. _Alright, that sounds good._

 _Great!_ Torrent replied. _So the plan is that you take Griffin to the Summer Palace in a few days?_

Orca glanced over at Griffin, who had remained quiet this whole time, and had an uncomfortable smile plastered over his beak. _Yeah,_ she replied. _You alright with that?_ she asked Griffin.

Griffin nodded in reply. "Sure, it beats staying alone for two weeks."

 _Fantastic!_ Orca flashed. _So it's settled._

* * *

Rift heard a knock on his door. Maybe it was Gill, ready to take him out to the Summer Palace early? Nothing could ruin his mood now, it was only two days before the meetings which would change his life and set him on his adventure.

Rift opened up his door to see Angler, frowning. _What?_ Rift asked.

 _I have someone to show you,_ Angler replied, pushing past Rift. Along with him came an ancient SeaWing that looked like she had seen better days. She had a wing and a leg missing, and clearly struggled to swim. Looking closer, Rift saw that she had a glass eye. She shivered, as if the water chilled her to her bones.

 _This is Trout,_ Angler introduced, _she normally lives on an island abovewater, where it's warmer, but I convinced her to come down here for a visit._

Rift doubted it took much convincing. A prince's request wasn't usually refused. _Why?_ he asked.

 _She was a soldier in a war with the MudWings many years ago,_ Angler explained, _all of her wounds were obtained in battle._

Rift snarled. He saw what Angler was trying to do. _Look, I don't care how many injured dragons you bring down here, I'm not staying in this dump for the rest of my life._

 _If the Deep Palace is your idea of a dump,_ Angler retorted, _I doubt you're going to find much luck anywhere else on Pyrrhia._

 _You know what I mean! Now take this poor veteran back to the surface, and leave me alone._

 _At least hear her out,_ Angler pleaded. _She came all the way down here just to talk to you._

 _To tell me words that I'm sure you put in her mouth,_ Rift flashed angrily, _what were you going to have done to her if she insist I change my mind, I wonder? Now get out._

Angler frowned grimly. _I hope you realize that you're making the wrong decision, brother. Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?_

 _Out!_ Rift flashed.

Angler solemnly nodded, defeated. _Fine. Have it your way. Thank you for coming down here, Trout, even if it was all for nothing._

 _Mmmmmm,_ Trout flashed slowly, swimming out the door.

Angler glanced back at Rift one last time before leaving. _I'll always love you, you know,_ he flashed back.

Rift sighed. He didn't want to stay angry at his twin. He really didn't. _I'll miss you_.


	8. Chapter 7

Orca nervously looked for dragons outside the Deep Palace, and checking that the waters were clear, she motioned Griffin forward, making sure not to use Aquatic and attract attention.

It was nighttime, and while darkness was no problem for a SeaWing's eyes, they couldn't register color as well. From a distance, Griffin might look like a small dragonet, at least that was what Orca hoped.

Fortunately, there were no dragons out on this night. The two swam as quickly as they could towards the Summer Palace. There were a few points along the trip that Orca thought she had seen another SeaWing, but they turned out to instead be a whale or dolphin.

Eventually, Orca and Griffin reached the palace. Orca had left her enchanted amethyst bracelet in her room; if she hadn't, it would be burning off her scales. The two swam beneath the tunnels that led to the center of the island for what felt like an eternity, but they finally surfaced at a pool in a tunnel off of the lake in the center of the palace. Orca looked around. There would be a few servants preparing the palace for the queens along with permanent inhabitants, but none were in the tunnel at that moment. Orca motioned Griffin to surface.

Griffin surfaced, and his eyes went wide in shock. He took a deep breath in through his nose, this time taking in actual air instead of water. "Wow," he whispered, "this is amazing."

The Summer Palace was just as Orca had seen it last: beautiful and jarring. It was somewhere in between the perplexing randomness of nature and the simple geometry of dragon-made architecture, combining the two into a statue of stone.

Griffin looked out the exit of the tunnel, to the lake in the center of the Summer Palace. Moonlight faintly shone through the green canopy overhead onto the twelve stacked pavilions in the center. He had only seen the Deep Palace, and not much of it. While the Deep Palace was beautiful, it was nothing compared to the architecture sculpted by Albatross's magic. Orca wondered how hard it would be for her to create something like this with her own magic. Yet, this was also Albatross's final feat—it was only after the creation of the Summer Palace that he killed the royal family. It was imbued with his soul, as tarnished as it became.

Orca silently nodded. "Yeah," she whispered, "we need to go. Follow me."

Orca led Griffin down the tunnel, away from the lake. There was bound to be at least one dragon sleeping there, if not more. Suddenly, she saw something in the movement in the distance. There was a SeaWing coming down the tunnel.

Orca quickly pushed Griffin into a small cave off the side of the tunnel, hoping that there was no one in there, and patiently waited for the dragon to pass. He slowly walked down the tunnel, wading in the shallow water, bowing to Orca as he passed. If he noticed something wrong, he ignored it. Orca sighed in relief when he was out of sight.

Orca pulled Griffin back out, and they continued down the tunnel, before long, Orca found a cave which she thought would be suitable. There was a lock on the door, and Orca would be able to get a key from a guard in the morning. She opened the door, and she and Griffin entered. Griffin would have a home for the next two weeks in the Summer Palace. Now, she needed a plan to get him out again.

* * *

Orca watched from one of the pavilions as the three queens swam out of the tunnel into the lake, their scales bathed in emerald sunlight.

Blister wasn't properly a queen, of course, but she was treated like one in the Sea Kingdom. It was considered rudeness, even criminal, to call her Princess Blister instead of Queen Blister, as she preferred. She might have been more intelligent, but Blister was just as narcissistic as her sister Blaze, she just showed it less. At the moment, Blister was swimming just ahead of Queen Coral, extending her finned neck with pride. Her pale gold scales turned a light green under the canopy light, making her diamond pattern less contrasting with the rest of her.

Behind Blister and Queen Coral swam Queen Moorhen. She was the largest of the three, as large as Orca's father, King Gill. She had a number of gemstones embedded into her scales, yet they did not appear excessively glamorous. Moorhen was one of the oldest queens in Pyrrhia, and her size proved it. Maybe Torrent was right, and she would know more about animus dragons than the SeaWings.

Not far behind Moorhen swam four more MudWings and two SeaWings: Moorhen's siblings, Gill, and Shark. They appeared to be engaged in casual conversation with each other. After them proceeded the rest of the SeaWing Royal Family: Rift, Angler, Torrent, River, and Moray. Orca jumped off the pavilion she was on and glided down into the lake.

Orca bowed as she approached the queens, paying the respect that was expected of a dragonet her age. "Your Majesties," she said.

Queen Blister stood there quietly smiling, swishing her barbed tail back and forth, but Queen Moorhen approached Orca. "Princess Orca," she replied, in her calm, kind voice. "It's been quite a while. You have grown fast."

"Thank you," Orca replied, acknowledging the MudWing queen's compliment.

Queen Coral smiled to the other queens. "Most of my council is already waiting on the usual pavilion. Orca, I expect you to attend the meeting. You are to be queen one day, you know," Coral clucked.

Blister frowned at this and flicked out her forked tongue, as if she didn't like the idea of Orca being queen so much. _Well, it wasn't as if you've got any say in the matter,_ Orca thought.

The three queens and Orca flew up to the pavilion second from top, where the queens usually met. Coral motioned back to the dragons exiting the tunnel, and Gill, Rift, and Shark flew after them.

The pavilion already had a number of SeaWings on it, Queen Coral's council members. Whirlpool was there, along with Gill's sister and Orca's aunt, Commander Tempest. The various dragons took their places, with Blister, Coral, and Moorhen in the center.

"Queen Moorhen, Queen Blister, welcome back to the Summer Palace," Whirlpool greeted, in his usual slimy voice. Queen Moorhen thanked him, while Blister just smiled and waved her barb back and forth.

"Let's get down to business," Moorhen started. "We are all reaffirming our alliance in the war?"

Blister immediately nodded, of course. She was the one who had the most to gain from an alliance, the SandWing throne.

Coral waited a moment longer, thinking. Blister turned to her and let out a slight hiss, frowning. "What is it, Coral?" she asked.

"It's just that this war has gone on longer than expected," Coral replied. "I'm not going to be pulling out my troops, but it just feels like we're no closer to winning than at the start."

Blister smiled silkily. "Do not worry, we're closer than ever to winning. With two kingdoms behind me and my legion of SandWings, we far outnumber the other kingdoms in troops. I want this war to be over as soon as you do. Yet, we may be able to finish sooner if we only had more troops. Commander Tempest and Commander Shark's legions have been very useful, but another would benefit the war effort very much."

Rift suddenly raised his voice, interrupting whatever Queen Coral was about to say. "Your Majesty, I could command a legion."

Blister seemed somewhat surprised for a moment, but then a pleased expression passed over her face. Orca didn't like this at all.

Queen Coral looked at her son and frowned. "Angler? Have you talked to your father about this? The war is no place for a dragonet."

"Rift," he hissed. "My name is Rift, and I'm not a dragonet anymore. And _yes_ , I have talked to father about it. He said it was my choice."

Gill sighed. He had hoped Rift would've given this up by now.

Coral didn't seem convinced. Blister saw Coral's expression, and decided to comment. "I think it's a good idea. As I mentioned, we're in need of another legion, and having a SeaWing prince at the forefront would really boost troop morale, and give Rift military experience."

Coral thought for a moment, weighing options. "It would be dangerous, though. What if he gets injured?"

"He won't," Blister replied. "I'll make sure to keep his legion with my own, and I can keep an eye on him."

Coral nodded her head. She seemed convinced. Orca rolled her eyes. Her mother was so easily persuaded. What was she even getting out of this war anyways?

"Alright," Coral replied, "Rift, as of now, you are now a commander. Over the next few weeks, we'll give you training and pulling together your troops. You'll be under the command of Queen Blister, and need to listen to her."

Rift grinned. He had finally gotten what he wanted. "Thank you, Mother," he replied. "Your Majesty, Queen Blister, I promise I will serve you well."

Blister smiled slyly and nodded, flicking her forked tongue in and out of her teeth.

The rest of the meeting was the queens and the council discussing various other war plans and the details of the alliance; it didn't seem very interesting to Orca, so after the first few minutes she tuned it out. After the end of the meeting, and the queens went their separate ways, she went up to Rift as they were swimming to the area of the Summer Palace reserved for the Royal Family's rooms.

"Rift," Orca said, trying to get his attention.

Rift turned around, and saw Orca, "Oh, Orca! Isn't it great? I get to be a commander!" He was clearly in a joyful mood.

Orca nodded politely. "Congratulations," she replied, "just . . . stay safe, alright?"

"Heh, don't worry. I'll be fine, I can take care of anything that comes for me." He raised a claw and swiped at an invisible enemy, as if he was showing Orca that his words were true.

Orca smiled, even though she knew that Rift hadn't had any real fighting experience. "Here," she said, "I got you a gift." Orca unlatched the small dolphin necklace from her neck, and put it against her mouth, whispering something into it. She had received it from her mother years before, just one of the many pieces of jewelry Coral had given her daugher, but it was Orca's personal favorite, and the only one she wore consistently.

"Wow," Rift said, taking it into his claws and putting around his own neck. "It's really beautiful! Thank you so much!"

Orca smiled. "Just make sure not to lose it, so don't take it off. You promise?"

"Oh, sure!" Rift replied. "Don't worry, I'll see you soon!"

Orca nodded, and the two headed their separate ways. She knew that Torrent wouldn't like that she had enchanted something else, but war was dangerous, and something small just to protect her brother couldn't do that much harm on her soul, could it?


	9. Chapter 8

Two MudWing guards waited outside Queen Moorhen's room. They looked similar, as if they might be brother and sister. Both were the same dark shade of brown, and had similar shaped faces. The female MudWing was a little larger than her brother. Siblings working and living together seemed to be common with MudWings, at least that was what Torrent remembered from his lessons with Whirlpool. Torrent wondered if his bond with Orca would last that long or stay that strong when they grew up. He thought about Coral and Shark's relationship; the two never really seemed happy around each other. Shark was always stiff and tense near his sister, and Coral tended to completely ignore Shark.

As Torrent walked by, they looked cautiously at him. "Hi," the dragonet said calmly, "is Queen Moorhen in there? I'd like to talk to her." He raised a wing and presented the royal starburst patterns beneath them. The MudWings didn't appear to recognize it, though Torrent didn't expect them too.

"Er . . . who are you?" the brother asked.

"Prince Torrent," Torrent replied. "I wanted to ask your queen something. No weapons, don't worry."

The MudWings looked at each other, then moved aside to allow Torrent in. A SeaWing dragonet wasn't much of a threat to the queen, even a large one like Torrent. And if he really was a prince, refusing him could cause unneeded diplomatic tensions between the kingdoms.

Torrent walked into the room, and the two MudWings moved behind him. "Queen Moorhen," one announced, "this dragonet says he's a prince and wants to talk to you."

The room inside had five dragons. Four of them were circled around one in the center, who Torrent guessed was Queen Moorhen by the jewels in her scales. The other four must be her siblings.

Queen Moorhen raised her head to see what the disturbance was, and her siblings followed. She looked over at her guards, and then to Torrent. The SeaWing prince lifted up a wing to show his royal patterns, and Queen Moorhen nodded in understanding.

"Yes?" she asked Torrent expectantly. "Did Queen Coral send you?"

Torrent shook his head, shaking slightly in apprehension. "Your Majesty, I wanted to ask you for a favor. It's nothing large."

Queen Moorhen chuckled at the idea of a dragonet asking her for something. "Well then, what is it? We're not sending more troops into the war, if that's what you want."

"No, Your Majesty," Torrent replied, bowing, "I was wondering if the Mud Kingdom had any libraries with scrolls on animus dragons."

Queen Moorhen frowned slightly. "Animus dragons?" she asked. "What for?" One of the queen's siblings whispered something to another.

"It's for a project I'm doing for my history class on the supernatural," Torrent smoothly lied. He had planned this excuse beforehand. "The Deep Palace Library is lacking in modern information; most of our stuff is on Albatross." He waved a claw around the carefully crafted cave walls around them.

Moorhen thought for a moment, tugging a talon on a small silver bracelet she wore. "I suppose I could ask our librarians," she replied after a moment of thinking.

Torrent bowed again. "Many thanks, Your Majesty. If there are any scrolls in the Deep Palace you're interested in, I can bring them to you the next time we meet."

"Oh, no worries," Queen Moorhen replied. "Prince Torrent, correct?" Torrent nodded. "The son of my ally is also my ally," Moorhen continued. "If something does come up, I'll let you know."

Torrent bowed one last time, and exited the room. He didn't know how long it would be before Queen Moorhen returned to the Summer Palace, and a solution in the MudWing scrolls was a longshot. Still, he could hope.

* * *

River regally waded into the large lake in the center of the palace, as regally as one could wade. She looked around in earnest, but couldn't find her mother anywhere. Queen Coral was probably in a private meeting somewhere. River growled just thinking about it. How come Orca was allowed to attend meetings and she wasn't? Mother didn't know that Orca was going to become queen for certain, did she? River should've been allowed to meet with the queens too.

She waded past two guards, and picked up a snippet of their conversation. " . . . the princess asked me for it." This sounded interesting, were they talking about her? She hadn't remembered asking any guards for anything. River stopped swimming, and hung around to eavesdrop on the guards.

"Really?" the second guard asked. "Did she say why?"

"Nah," the first replied. "Just told me to give her the key and left."

"Did you look to see what's there?"

" 'Course not, I don't wanna get my snout into any royal business, else it could get chopped off. You know how Coral can be."

River suddenly swam between the two guards, making herself known to them. "What room?" she demanded.

The guards splashed back in surprise. "Er, eleventh cave down the small tunnel," the first replied, pointing a claw in the correct direction.

River nodded. Fortunately, she knew exactly where the spare keys were, up in her mother's room, just like the ones in the Deep Palace. She quickly flew to it, and looked in. Neither of the guards bothered her, they knew who she was, and knew that they could have their heads off if they tried to stop her. They had no reason to, anyways, River's own room was connected. Neither of River's parents were in their room, they were probably at a meeting, leaving the room empty. River stepped into the room and dug through a small drawer with the keys to most of the rooms in the palace. Finding the one she wanted, she left her parents' room, and flew down to the room the guard had given her directions to.

River inserted the key in the lock, and unlocked it. For a second, she thought that Orca must still be in the room, and backed away, River didn't want to be caught snooping on her sister's activities. Then, she remembered that if her parents were at a meeting, so would Orca. Was it Torrent in there? No matter, River would get to the bottom of this.

She pushed open the door, and looked around. The room didn't seem like anything special, it had no furniture except for a desk and a bed. Suddenly, the SeaWing princess noticed a feather on the ground, exactly like the one in Torrent's room. River frowned as she rolled it between her claws. What could it mean?

Suddenly, River saw movement beneath the bed. There was something _alive_ under it. Whatever the feathers were coming from.

The princess's breath sped up. What if it was dangerous? No, it was too late for her to turn back now. River ducked her head down, and growled at whatever was under there. "Come out!" she snarled.

In a flash, the creature under the bed pushed scrambled past River, its feathers brushing past her violet scales. River turned around, and couldn't believe what she saw for a moment. A gryphon. But they were only in stories, weren't they?

The gryphon rushed towards the door, pushing it open. River wanted to claw her own eyes out. Why hadn't she closed it? Was she just _that_ incompetent? It ran out into the corridor.

"Stop!" River angrily yelled after it, not knowing if it could understand her, or if it cared. She ran out into the corridor, and tried to quickly wade through the water. SeaWings might've been fast swimming beneath the surface, but they were just as slow as any other dragon while wading, maybe even worse due to the webbing between their claws. She could still see the gryphon heading down the corridor.

Suddenly, the gryphon spread its feathery wings and took off in flight. At first, it staggered and shook a bit, and River thought it would fall back into the water, but it started to get the hang of it, and flew down the dimly-lit tunnel much faster than River could follow by wading.

River roared in anger; she shook the water of her own wings, and tried to get into the air herself. The tunnel was too small for a full-sized SeaWing to fly in, but River was a dragonet, so she might be able to try. She opened her wings and lifted-off, focused on catching the gryphon ahead of her. She cringed in pain as the sharp stone walls scraped against her wing membranes, tearing gashes into them. She yelled out in pain.

River suddenly hit something, and fell back down to the shallow water, splashing through it before hitting the rigid floors below. When she got back up to see what happened, another SeaWing was in front of her, a larger and older dragon looking quite ashamed after being caught in the princess's in-chosen flight path, while only wanting to exit his room.

"Your Majesty, my deepest apologies," he bowed, shaking in fear. Even if it wasn't at all his fault, if Princess River was at all seriously injured, Queen Coral would take his head off. "Are you alright? Do you need anything."

"I'm fine," River growled. She pushed aside the older SeaWing with a paw as he scrambled out of her way. When she next looked down the tunnel, the gryphon was gone. She roared in frustration. The cave network around the Summer Palace was so big, there was no way she could find it now.

She seethed at the pain in her wings, the saltwater having splashed into her cuts. She looked over to see the bloodied membranes on her right wing. It wasn't as bad as it felt, fortunately, and would heal before too long.

"Did you see it?" she demanded of the SeaWing, turning to him.

The SeaWing looked down the hall to where the gryphon had gone, then turned back to River. "The eagle-thing?" he asked, somewhat surprised. "I think so."

"It wasn't an eagle, you dimwit. Eagles don't have front legs or dragon-like bodies," the princess hissed. "It was a gryphon."

The SeaWing nodded, unsure how he had gotten dragged into this.

"C'mon," she ordered, "we're going to see my mother."

The SeaWing nodded meekly, and followed River down the tunnel back into the lake at the center of the Summer Palace. River looked up to the pavilion on which River guessed Coral would be having her meeting, then back at her wing.

"Carry me up," she ordered the SeaWing.

The SeaWing bent down, allowing River to drag herself on him, and took off, gasping heavily for air. Eventually, he reached the top with River.

River's guess was correct: the three queens, Orca, Gill, Shark, Tempest, a few other high-ranking SeaWings, and some MudWings and SandWings she didn't know were all feverently discussing plans for the war. Queen Coral looked up as she saw her daughter approaching with the other SeaWing behind him, and the rest of the the dragons fell silent and turned their eyes on the violet-scaled princess. River felt a slight shiver as the beady-eyed Blister glared at her.

"River, are you alright?" Coral asked in shock. "Your wing, what happened? Did someone hurt you?"

"It's nothing. Just tried to fly in the tunnels."

Coral shook her head in disdain. "River sweetie, you really need to take care of yourself more. You're getting older, and you should know by now that you can't fly in such close quarters."

River seethed, but kept herself from getting defensive. "Mother, we need to talk," River hissed back.

Coral sighed. "Can it wait? I'm in the middle of a meeting."

"No, it _cannot_." River snapped, giving Orca a short glare.

Queen Coral rolled her eyes and looked at the other two queens. "Dragonets," she tsked, loud enough for River to hear. Not that either of the other queens would have any idea what taking care of dragonets was like. "I'll make this quick."

River dragged herself back onto the poor SeaWing who had gotten stuck in this mess. The three flew up to a ledge on the cave walls of the Palace, leading to the royal chambers. "What is it," Coral hissed to her daughter angrily, "and why is it so important you must take me away from my meetings?"

At least to River, it was important because it could create a scandal around Orca that might eventually get River to the throne instead of her older sister, but Coral wouldn't care about that. The queen had seemed to have already decided that Orca would be her successor, not River. "Orca is hiding a _gryphon_ in the Summer Palace," River bluntly replied.

Coral exasperatedly clenched her sharp shark-like teeth. "Gryphons don't _exist_ , River."

"Apparently they do, and Orca is hiding one," she dragged the elder SeaWing behind her up. "He saw it too."

The elder SeaWing wasn't sure exactly what to say. He didn't want to anger the princess, but angering the queen would be far worse. "I mean, I might have, but it was really fast and kind of a blur."

Queen Coral looked at River and sighed. "River, it was probably just a large bird or something. Orca isn't hiding an imaginary creature in her room."

River let loose a low growl. "It was!" she whined. "And I'll prove it!"

She lept off the ledge, and started to fly away, before remembering her injured wing. River yelled in pain, and half glided-half dove into the lake below, causing a bunch of SeaWings to scramble out of her way. Fortunately, the lake was deep enough that she arose from the water uninjured.

Behind her, she saw her mother apologizing to the elder SeaWing for all the trouble, not batting an eye towards River. River knew what she had seen, and she would prove it to her mother. Then she'd get Coral to banish Orca, and River would be the next Queen of the SeaWings.

* * *

Rift looked out the entrance to the Summer Palace. His uncle Shark stood next to him impatiently, glaring unblinkingly at Rift. Rift fidgeted a little. He was also eager to be off—the two were going to start military training on an island in the west of the Sea Kingdom, where apparently a number of troops were already placed.

Rift looked back, and breathed a sigh of relief. Angler was swimming in the lake beneath towards him. His pale-green twin rose out of the water, an expression of grief on his face.

"Hey," Rift awkwardly beckoned, playing with the dolphin necklace that Orca had given him, "I'm glad you came."

"You can still turn back, you know," Angler commented forwardly. "Sure, Mother might be a little annoyed, but I know Gill wants you to wait a few more years, and h—"

"Angler," Rift sighed, shaking his head, "I _want_ to go, and I'm not turning tail to embarrass the Sea Kingdom in front of our allies."

"Yeah, but you don't have to go _now_. You can wait a couple more years, until we're older, and you've had a bit more time to think."

"Look, did you come here to argue with me, or did you want to say goodbye?" Rift asked, keeping his voice calm.

Angler took a deep breath of air in, and closed his eyes for a moment. He walked towards Rift, his claws splashing in the shallow water, and wrapped his wings around his twin. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too. Don't worry, I'll be back for a visit within six months, and the war will be over in a year if I have anything to say about it. I'll make sure to tell you everything, okay?"

Angler nodded. "Stay safe," he whispered, letting go of Rift.

"You too!" Rift called back. Shark was motioning to him that it was time to leave. "See you soon!"

Rift turned around, and followed his uncle, diving into the undersea tunnel, not looking back. This was the SeaWing prince's grand destiny, and he would face it head-on.


	10. Chapter 9

Torrent opened the room to where Orca had told him Griffin was, using her key. "Griffin?" he asked. "Are you in there?" He received no reply. "Griffin?" he called again.

Still no response. Torrent was worried. Where had Griffin gone? Could he have flown off somewhere? No, there's no way he couldn't have been caught, there was only one way in and out of the palace, and that was the underwater tunnels. Griffin might have been able to sneak out at night, when they were empty, but Torrent had just seen Griffin this very morning. He had to still be in the palace.

Torrent exited the room, and looked left and right, scanning the semi-natural tunnel. Griffin couldn't have taken the tunnel left: that led to the busy pavilions and the lake, and he would've been seen right away, so he must've gone right. Torrent waded through the water, looking around for nearby dragons and Griffin. "Griffin," he called out quietly. "It's me, Torrent."

After a few minutes of wading, the SeaWing thought he heard something. "Griffin?" he asked.

"I'm here," a small nervous voice called from ahead. Torrent swam forward, and looked inside a small cave offshooting from the main tunnel. Griffin was inside, hiding. Torrent went inside and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where have you been?" Torrent asked. "Why are you here?"

The small feathered gryphon looked around nervously. "The purple dragon who came into your room before found me in the room and chased me out."

"What?" asked Torrent in surprise. "She saw you?" This couldn't be good, who knew what Queen Coral would do to Griffin if he was caught by River, and what would happen to Orca. "We need to get you back to the Deep Palace," Torrent reasoned. "It'll be easier to hide you in Orca's room. Let me get Orca, then we can get you back tonight. Stay here and hide."

Torrent was about to rush down the hall to find his older sister, when he thought of something. He turned back to Griffin. "When Orca comes here, don't tell her that River actually saw you, just tell her that River almost caught you again and you ran over here for safety. If she thinks that you're in too much danger, she might use her magic again, and we can't have that happen."

Griffin nodded compliantly, so Torrent waded back down the tunnel as fast as he could. Orca was either at a meeting or in her room, and the pavilions were closer, so he went there first. He flew to the meeting pavilion, and he was just in luck. The meeting had just ended, so Orca was free for now.

Not bothering to give the three conversing queens nearby a glance, Torrent flew up to Orca. "I need you to come with me, now. We have a problem."

Orca nodded, realizing that this was something that they couldn't talk about in public. The two headed back to the tunnel, and waded down it. Torrent checked a few times to make sure they weren't being followed, then the two headed into the cave Griffin was temporarily hiding in. Griffin looked relieved seeing Torrent and Orca again.

"River came into Griffin's room again," Torrent explained. "We need to take him back to the Deep Palace, tonight."

Orca nodded. "I might be able to enchant someth—"

"No!" Torrent interrupted, almost shouting. "No more magic."

Orca grimly conceded. "Fine. I'll tell Gill that you left something back in the Deep Palace that you need to get, and that I'm willing to take you. We'll just leave Griffin in there for the remainder of the meetings."

Griffin looked a bit disappointed. The queens were only going to be at the palace for a few more days, but that still felt like a long time for Griffin.

"Don't worry," Torrent reassured Griffin, "I'll make sure you have plenty of scrolls to read, alright?"  
Griffin nodded. "Great," Orca replied, exiting the room. "I'll meet you in this room a few hours past sundown, when the exits should be clear."

* * *

Fortunately for the two SeaWing dragonets, the the exit tunnels were empty, and Griffin was safely returned to the Deep Palace. Orca and Torrent finished up their meeting at the Summer Palace without any commotion, and thereafter returned to their more permanent home far beneath the depths of the dark ocean.

Time passed. For the next few months, Griffin was able to stay safely hidden. Because of Torrent's worry that River might attempt to break into Orca's room while they were gone, he decided that Griffin would be better off sleeping in a room nearby to Orca's: just as secluded, but not as obvious a place to hide him. River continued her investigation, but so far, it was no use. Other than a few scrolls describing fantastical gryphons, the SeaWing princess could not find any more traces of what she had seen.

While Torrent continued searching through the SeaWing Library, he had no luck with finding relevant information on animus souls. As he attempted to remain hopeful that Queen Moorhen's scrolls would bring new knowledge to light, the next meeting of the queens was still months away, and his impatience continued to grow.

Torrent threw his scroll to the ground in exasperation, though it only gently floated down through the water, fluttering before landing on the floor. _Nothing! There's nothing!_

Orca sighed, and glanced over to Griffin. The small feathered creature just shrugged, he had no more useful information than them.

 _Torrent, be patient,_ Orca flashed, _we've only got a few more months until Queen Moorhen comes back with more scrolls; maybe one of those will have something._

Torrent grumbled. _Maybe, but who knows. For all we know, they could just be stupid legends and stories like the rest._

 _Possibly, but it doesn't matter. I've got my bracelet, remember?_ Orca held up the golden bracelet enchanted to keep her soul intact. She smiled a little half-heartedly.

Torrent sighed. _Sure you have it, but how do we know it works? Maybe it's not your soul after all, and it's something different, and here you are, slowly losing your mind while we just wait._

Orca twitched her tail back and forth, frowning. _I am not losing my mind. Look, if you really want to settle this once and for all, how about we ask another animus?_

 _What?_ Torrent asked, confused. _Another animus? Are there more? Do you know one?_

Orca shrugged. _No, but I can find one._ She brought out a blank piece of the waterproof parchment paper, and rolled it open. "I enchant this paper so that a map of Pyrrhia appears on it, showing the location of every animus in Pyrrhia."

Torrent snarled. _No more enchantments!_

Orca glared back. _It's my soul, if I want to, I can make all the enchantments I want._

 _Not if you're at danger of massacring the rest of us._

Orca flicked her tongue out angrily, and aggressively took a step towards Torrent. _And what are you going to do about it. Try and stop me from using my magic?_

Torrent and Orca's eyes locked angrily for a moment.

"Stop fighting!" Griffin interrupted, the small creature swimming between the two larger dragonets. "You're supposed to be friends."

There was a short silence before Orca broke it. She clenched her claws in shame at her sudden self-awareness. _No, no, Torrent is right. I need to make sure that if I ever lose my soul, Torrent can stop me from using my magic._ She swam over to her desk, and opened a drawer. She pulled out a small letter-opener. Muttering something under her breath, the letter-opener morphed, changing into a long dagger with a sharply curved blade.

Torrent looked at her, a little worried. Orca swam back to Torrent, and he took a small step back.

"I enchant this dagger to not allow animus enchantments to affect it, anyone or anything it is touching or it is in the possession of, unless Torrent wills it otherwise," Orca enchanted, Torrent and Griffin barely hearing her through the water. She flashed out what she had enchanted to make sure they knew.

 _There,_ Orca flashed in contentment, giving the dagger to Torrent. _Now as long as you have this, you can't be hurt by my magic._

Torrent grimly nodded, and placed the weapon down on Orca's desk. Griffin took a cautious step away from it. _It won't come to me ever having to use it,_ Torrent said. Orca nodded, hoping the same.

She brought the mapd she had enchante between them. Ink had magically appeared on the parchment, creating a map of Pyrrhia. A small number of colored blotches had also appeared, a dark-green one where the Deep Palace was placed. Torrent figured that would be Orca's. The nearest blotch to them was southeast of the Bay of a Thousand Scales, a pitch-black one in the far east of the Mud Kingdom.

Orca pointed a claw to it. _That's where we'll go._

* * *

The next night, the three left the palace. Nighttime outside the Deep Palace was dark, but not much light reached down to these watery depths during the day anyways, so it wasn't too much different than normal. The SeaWings might not have been able to see the time of day so far down, but they generally kept to a diurnal schedule. As usual, the waters outside the Deep Palace were almost empty by the time Torrent, Orca, and Griffin left the Deep Palace.

Swimming would be the fastest way to the Eastern Mud Kingdom, and when they reached the shore, the three could fly the rest of the way. By the time they burst into the air from the surf to take flight, the sun was already rising. Griffin took a deep breath in of the air, and relaxed. Breathing underwater was always strange for him, occasionally he'd wake up and think he was drowning. As unnatural a creature as he was, Griffin loved the natural feeling of the fresh air going in and out of his lungs.

The rising sun glinted off the salty waves as the three rose higher, and started to fly over the land beneath. They were at little danger of being seen by MudWings, the area was practically uninhabited.

"Griffin, this is the first time you've ever flown, isn't it?" Orca asked.

Griffin thought for a moment, "I mean, there was one tiny little time in the Summer Palace, but that wasn't really flying, not like this. So yeah, this is the first time."

"Do you like it?"

Griffin was too focused on the beautiful, clear, not watery air to notice the flying, but he nodded anyways. He did enjoy the flying, even if he wasn't exactly sure how he was able to learn it so quickly. Maybe Orca's enchantment had helped.

By the time they reached their destination, the sun had risen further in the sky. Orca held the map out in their claws, and saw that the two blotches were almost on top of each other. "That's it," she said, pointing a talon at a large hill below.

The hill had a large cave carved in the side, almost ten times as high as Orca and Torrent. It almost looked like it was naturally placed there, but something about it gave Orca a strange feeling. The cave led deeper into the hill, tunneling through. The three landed.

"Well, this is . . . unnerving," Griffin commented. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I've got my magic as a last resort," Orca explained. "Hopefully the animus will be friendly."

Torrent doubted that. Friendly dragons didn't live in caves with no one else around for miles. It would be fortunate if the dragon didn't attack them on first sight. Still, this could be helpfully. He hoped for the best.

Orca gave Torrent and Griffin a quick look of confirmation, then stepped into the behemoth passage.


	11. Chapter 10

The cave was dark, cold, and damp. A drop of water fell from the ceiling onto Torrent's snout, then splashed off his scales as soon as it arrived. Griffin looked around nervously.

"Hello?" Orca called. "Is anyone there?" Her voice emptily echoed off the walls. "Is anyone there? Is anyone there? Is anyone there?" She received no answers.

"C'mon," Orca said, "I know there's an animus in here. Probably in further."

The three continued in further. The cave went far into the hill, further than what Torrent thought was possible. _Is this magic?_ he wondered. He glanced around the walls of the cave, and touched one, dragging a talon down its surface. It felt smooth and ethereal, like the walls of the Summer Palace, or Griffin's feather. The cave was not just any cave, but the epitome of all caves. There was no cave more cave-like than this cave, this cave was perfect.

"Hello?" Orca called again.

There was a strange silence, until suddenly a voice called back, almost making Griffin jump out of his feathers. "Princess Herring?" it asked. "Is that you? You haven't visited for a while." The voice was rough and jarring, as if it hadn't been used in a long, long time. It seemed to reverberate from everywhere in the cavern.

Orca looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. Who was Princess Herring? Orca hadn't heard of her before. An old SeaWing princess, perhaps? "No, my name is Princess Orca," she replied. Suddenly, Orca felt a giant shake in the ground, as if an earthquake had just happened by. She looked up to the ceiling. Rocks were gently crumbling down.

Suddenly, the walls appeared to move. Stone crumbled and broke off them, falling onto the dark floor in thin slabs, then further collapsing into dust. Dark black dragon scales were revealed behind them, larger than any scales Orca had seen before. Veins of shimmering gold appeared between the scales. The walls continued crumbling and rotating, until the largest dragon Orca had ever seen crawled out of the walls, almost wrapping herself around the three.

The gargantuan NightWing's head reached down, stone continuing to fall off it as her neck moved. Just her head was larger than the three of them combined. As the NightWing moved her nostrils in front of Orca, and sniffed her, the puny SeaWing princess could not help but back up in fear, tucking her tail between her legs. She'd heard that the older a dragon was, the larger they got. How old was this dragon? Or was this magic?

"You're not Herring," the NightWing replied, opening her mouth and breathing hot sulfuric air over the SeaWing princess. The NightWing's breathing was slow and raspy, as if she had immense trouble just doing the simple task of taking in air to her lungs. Her slow heartbeat shook the ground.

"Er . . . no." Orca replied. She noticed a humongous necklace resting around the NightWing's neck. A strange aura floated off it, making Orca's scales shiver. This dragon was clearly an animus, and a very powerful one at that.

"Orca, you say?" the NightWing said. She slowly turned her head, smelling Griffin and Torrent in turn. "It is so very good to have visitors. I haven't had any in a very long time. Why have you come? Did Herring send you?"

"No," Orca replied, still unsure who Herring was, "I don't know a princess named Herring."

"Oh, that's a shame," the NightWing replied. "I am . . ." The NightWing thought for a moment, as if she was attempting to remember who she was. ". . . Sunscorcher. Yes."

Orca nodded. "Er . . . Sunscorcher, we came to you to ask you a question. About animus magic."

Sunscorcher lifted her head up slowly, with an expression of surprise on her face. She opened one eyelid, revealing a milky-white orb over her pupil, surrounded by a golden iris. "Animus magic," she said, almost like a whisper. "That's what Herring asked me about when she first visited me. Are you sure you are not Herring?"

"I'm not," Orca patiently replied.

"You shouldn't mess with animus magic," Sunscorcher scolded. "It's very dangerous, you know. Herring got into trouble with animus magic. I hope she's alright."

"You _are_ an animus, right?" Orca asked. "I am too. I wanted to ask if there was a way to not lose my soul."

"An animus?" The NightWing thought for a moment. The rocks shuddered beneath the dragons' claws. "Yes, I am." Suddenly, Sunscorcher laughed. The horrible, raspy laugh reverberated about the cave walls. Torrent and Griffin covered their ears.

"Losing your soul?" Sunscorcher asked. "Animus dragons don't _lose_ their souls when they use their magic." She flicked out forked tongue. "Their souls become more complete. More perfect. More beautiful. Can you hear them?"

"What?" Orca asked. She was becoming more and more certain that this dragon wouldn't be any help.

Sunscorcher opened her other eye. It was just as milky-white as the first one, but the blind NightWing appeared to be staring right into Orca's soul. "The voices. They whisper to me when I use magic. They're beautiful, are they not?"

Orca shuddered. Griffin tugged at her tail, and silently motioned towards the exit of the cave. Orca shook her head. Maybe the animus would still say something useful. "They . . . are?" Orca replied.

Sunscorcher nodded, as if agreeing with Orca. "Yes, they are. Always there. Always there. No matter how hard I try to make them go away." The giant animus suddenly looked angry. Griffin glanced back again to make sure there was still an exit. Sunscorcher played with the necklace around her neck. "I tried to make them go away," she whispered. Tears started to form on her milky-white eyes. "But it only made things worse. You've tried too, haven't you? I can smell it." Orca rubbed one of her claws on the golden bracelet she had made to protect her soul.

Sunscorcher suddenly raised one of her talons, and jammed it deep into her ears, not even flinching. Crimson blood started pouring down her claws from her ear, onto the ground beneath. It started to form a red puddle on the ground, slowly flowing towards Orca.

"No, there's no way to stop them," Sunscorcher continued. "That's just not how it works. There is only one way to silence the voices forever." As she pulled her talon out of her brain, she shook it, sending what looked like chunks of flesh or brain onto the wall. Quickly, the blood stopped dripping, and the hole she had made in her head magically started to mend itself.

Griffin tugged on Orca's tail again. She looked back to the entrance. Sunscorcher was slowly moving her huge tail in front of the entrance, attempting to fully encircle the three with her body. Orca nodded, and motioned Torrent. The three started to slowly move back towards the entrance of the cavern.

Tears fell down Sunscorcher's snout, splashing on the ground, and merging with the puddle of blood. "I miss Herring. She was such a nice SeaWing. But I had to silence them, didn't I? She would have hurt other dragons, and I couldn't let that happen. The voices had gotten too loud, and she couldn't hear me anymore. Can you still hear me?" The last question seemed to be directed towards Orca.

"Yes, I can hear you fine," Orca replied, nervously moving towards the entrance. Just a few more moments, and they would be able to escape Sunscorcher.

"No, you can't." Sunscorcher replied. "They've gotten too loud." Suddenly, Sunscorcher moved her tail inwards towards her head, attempting to complete the circle and trap the three inside.

"FLY!" Orca yelled. Griffin and Torrent opened their wings, and flew over Sunscorcher's incoming tail. Orca did the same, and just narrowly avoided it. The NightWing roared in anger, and the tunnel shook in retaliation as for the first time in centuries, or maybe millennia, she attempted to get up. Sunscorcher marched towards the exit of the tunnel, her jaws open wide, as the three flew towards the exit. Orca looked back, and saw what Sunscorcher was doing. She heard a deep influx of breath from the giant NightWing: Sunscorcher was going to breath fire.

Orca glanced back to the tunnel. She saw light ahead, but it was too far. They weren't going to make it. Large rocks started to fall from the tunnel ceiling.  
"Tunnel!" Orca commanded. "Collapse on Sunscorcher and kill her!" The top of the tunnel shook for a moment, as Orca flew as fast as she could away. A familiar wave of exhaustion washed over her, but the princess's adrenaline far overpowered that, and Orca's wings kept beating.

A cracking noise sounded throughout the air, and huge boulders suddenly paraded down on Sunscorcher's head, crushing it against the bottom of the floor, along with the necklace she had been wearing. Orca glanced back for a second. The giant NightWing's skull had been fully crushed. Scarlet blood flooded out of her head onto the rocks, but it was quickly hidden beneath more falling boulders. The rest of the tunnel was collapsing.

Orca, Torrent, and Griffin made it out of the tunnel just in time. Just after Orca's tail had gotten free of the cave entrance, it collapsed into a rocky rubble below. Sunscorcher's body was forever lost, far beneath the leveled hill.

The three breathed a collective sigh of relief, and landed a small ways from the rubble. Orca lay down, her head spinning. The rush of adrenaline had subsided, and the magic she used had finally taken its toll. She brought out the map, and opened the parchment. She glanced to the ink blotch that represented herself. This time, there was only one in the area. The blotch representing Sunscorcher had disappeared. The ancient animus was dead.


	12. Chapter 11

After recuperating from their escape from the cave, Orca, Torrent, and Griffin headed back to the Deep Palace. The way back was silent. None of them wanted to discuss what had occurred, so they kept their thoughts to themselves.

Torrent thought back to the raving NightWing. She sounded completely bonkers, but what if she was right? What if there was no way to help Orca, and it was already too late? He remembered what Sunscorcher had said: _She would have hurt other dragons, and I couldn't let that happen._ Did that mean Orca was going to hurt dragons, too? Torrent looked to his sister, who was also deep in thought. No, she wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, would she?

The image of Sunscorcher's crushed skull was still fresh in Orca's mind. That was entirely her doing. Orca didn't have to kill Sunscorcher, did she? She could've done something else, like enchanting Sunscorcher to become tiny or something. Orca could enchant something like that, couldn't she? Or maybe enchant rocks to fall in front of Sunscorcher, not on top of her. It was entirely her choosing to kill Sunscorcher. She had said it herself when she made the enchantment: she wanted them to kill Sunscorcher. Orca looked back at Torrent. _Does he know that I caused the cave to collapse? Maybe he just thinks it was the NightWing's fault. I'll keep it that way for now._

It was just past sunset by the time the three returned to the Deep Palace. Orca looked at the palace from afar. There were still dragons swimming around, going about their usual business. It would be difficult to sneak Griffin back in. Orca looked down to the seafloor. Patches of kelp grew along it, scrambling up to the surface for light. While they weren't large enough to hide a dragonet the size of Torrent or Orca, they were plenty large enough for the small Griffin.

 _Griffin, stay behind me,_ Orca flashed. She went ahead, scouting out the path most devoid of SeaWings. Suddenly, she saw three dragons coming towards them. She gulped when she saw who they were.

Coral and Gill swam out towards Orca and Torrent, while Griffin burrowed himself into the kelp, making him invisible to the larger dragons. River followed closely behind her mother, with a smirk across her face.

 _Orca, Torrent, where have you been?_ Queen Coral asked, frowning. _You've been missing for the whole day._ She tapped her claws on the ground below, waiting for an answer.

 _We went to the Summer Palace,_ Orca quickly lied. _Torrent had forgotten something there, so we went back to find it._

Coral looked satisfied with this answer, but River was not. _Oh yeah?_ she asked. _Then why did you come back from that way,_ River pointed a claw to the east, _when the Summer Palace is in the other direction?_ Gill put a claw up, motioning his daughter to be quiet; it wasn't her place to question her siblings.

 _We flew back from the Summer Palace instead of swimming,_ Orca quickly flashed, _so we accidentally went a bit further than we intended, and had to swim back. That's why we took so long._

Coral nodded. _Fine, but don't do it again. Orca, I know you're getting older and that you've made the journey by yourself before, but please, please tell your father or I before going to the Summer Palace without an adult. You're our princess, and it would be awful for the entire kingdom of you got somehow injured._

River glared at her mother and bared her teeth slightly, she obviously didn't like Coral ignoring that she was too a princess. _Yes, yes, River. This goes for you too,_ Coral continued, noticing the look River was giving her.

Orca nodded. _I'm sorry,_ she replied, _I'll make sure to tell you the next time I leave the palace._

 _The same goes for you too, Torrent,_ Gill reprimanded. Torrent nodded in agreement.

Coral and Gill seemed satisfied, so they headed back to the palace, River trailing behind them. She gave Orca a quick glare as she swam away.

Orca and Torrent breathed a sigh of relief, and when the three were completely gone, they turned around to check that Griffin was still there. Fortunately, the kelp had hidden him well, and he wasn't caught.

As the sun set far above the Deep Palace, Orca, Torrent, and Griffin slowly swam back into their home.

* * *

River was angry. It has been three days since Orca and Torrent had been caught on their unauthorized trip to the "Summer Palace." Couldn't Mother see that they were lying? Or did she just not care?

If Coral wouldn't care, then River would. Orca was clearly up to something, and River would get to the bottom of it. Over the last few days, she had been studying Orca and Torrent's schedules. While they were somewhat erratic, River had found a time when they wouldn't be in Orca's room, and River planned to go down there and investigate.

Orca's room was normally locked, but River knew where the spare keys for all the rooms in the Deep Palace were, and had taken Orca's out of the stash. She swam down to her sister's room, traversing the long and winding passage. She had accounted for the time needed to get through it in her plans, and she had a good hour before Torrent or Orca were free again. Torrent was with Whirlpool, while Orca was with Coral.

River breathed in nervously through her gills, a nervous sweat radiating off her violet scales. She inserted the old key into Orca's lock, and paused a moment before turning it. If her theories were correct, the gryphon would be inside Orca's room. This time, River would make sure to close the door behind her.

Yet, River hesitated. Was this really the right thing to do? Orca was her sister, wasn't she? And what if Torrent got caught up in whatever happened? Would he get hurt? No, Orca might have been River's biological sister, but she was no friend: Orca was River's rival, her enemy, a competitor for the throne, and Orca's icey attitude towards her younger sibling had done nothing to show anything different. If Torrent got harmed, that was his own fault for joining in with her. River turned the key, and opened up the door to Orca's room.

The young princess slammed the door behind her, making sure whatever was inside couldn't escape. She looked around the room for any signs of movement, and prepared her claws in case she needed to fight. A long moment passed before River realized that there was nothing there, except for a few loose feathers, similar to the ones she had found before, scattered around the floor.

Her eyes glazed around the room again, searching every nook and cranny. Still nothing. She had been wrong: the gryphon she had seen earlier was not in Orca's room. River cursed in Aquatic. Had this all been for nothing? Was Orca innocent of any implicating crime?

No, she couldn't be. Even if she hadn't gotten her goal, River wouldn't let this opportunity and planning go to waste. She would take this time to investigate. The first place River looked at was Orca's collection of statues. Orca's hobby had always seemed suspicious to her. Just the way that the jewel-eyed busts of her parents stared back at River creeped her out, like she was being watched by her mother's judging eyes.

River picked up Orca's sculpting tools in her claws, and frowned. They gave off a strange aura, sending a small shiver up River's scales, but other than that, there was nothing unusual or incriminating about them. She set them back down. River then looked over to Orca's desk and the scroll-shelves above. Orca always spent so much time reading scrolls, maybe that would give River a clue. River opened one of the ones on the desk. It contained sketches of the statue Orca had made of Queen Atoll. That statue was no longer in Orca's room, River now unfortunately had to see it whenever she swam from her room too Whirlpool's classroom, just as another reminder of how much greater Orca was than her. River rolled open another scroll, and her eyes opened wide in surprise. This was promising.  
The scroll contained plans for another statue: a gryphon. The sketches looked exactly the same as the creature River had seen in the Summer Palace. River glanced back to the statues, just to make sure that there wasn't a gryphon statue there. There wasn't.

For a second, River thought about taking the scroll to Coral right there and then. But, no, Coral wouldn't believe her, and even if she did, Orca would just find a way to convince Coral otherwise. River couldn't believe how gullible Coral was, to believe anything that Orca ever told her. How did Orca get away with it?

Fueled by her discovery, River looked up to Orca's scrollshelf. She pulled out a few of them, making sure to keep track of their order so that Orca wouldn't notice anything gone. It only took a glance at a few of the titles for River to realize what was going on. Every single scroll was about animus dragons. She pulled out a few more scrolls, and the pattern continued.

It didn't take River long to put two and two together: Orca was an animus, and she had enchanted her gryphon statue to come to life. It all made sense. The strange perfection of the feathers, as if they were made by a dragon's mind and claws instead of by nature. The stone River had stubbed her claw on so long ago. She still had it in her room, next to the feathers. Torrent was sure to be in on it too. An accomplice to Orca's crimes.

River suddenly froze with a frightening realization. What if Orca's room was trapped? If she was an animus, she could have all sorts of ways to prevent intruders. River had heard about what animuses could do. River could've gotten an awful curse on her, for all she knew. No, that seemed unlikely. River didn't feel any different, did she? Yet, Orca might still have an alarm on her room. What if she knew that someone had gotten in? River needed to get out, fast.

After quickly placing the scrolls back in order, so that Orca would hopefully not know River was ever in there, River left the room, relocking it after she exited. She still wasn't sure about her theory, but if Orca was an animus, this was big. And very, very dangerous.

* * *

 _Mother, why do we have Talons of Power ceremonies?_ River asked. It had been a few hours since she had left Orca's room, and as far as River knew, she hadn't triggered any alarms.

 _Oh, I don't know,_ Coral replied, paying more attention to the scroll she was reading than her daughter. _I suppose it's kind of a coming of age thing. Two is a very big year for a lot of dragonets._

River sighed. Did Queen Coral really think River didn't know about the true purpose of the ceremony? River already knew what the ceremonies were used for, but she figured this would be the easiest way for her to learn if there was anything suspicious during Orca's ceremony. If there was, it could confirm her theory about Orca being an animus.

 _What about the coconuts? I thought it had to do with finding animus dragons._

Coral sighed and rolled her eyes slightly. _Well, yes, it does, but it's been ages and ages since we've found any. Such a shame, really._

River slowly nodded. _Don't we have animus blood in our family? Albatross and Fathom were both animuses,_ she pressed Coral.

 _We might,_ Coral replied, _but it's been so long that I really don't know anymore._

River tried to appear deep in thought for her mother. _When I had my Talons of Power ceremony, did anything weird happen? Like, did the coconut move, but just a little?_

Coral chuckled, surely thinking about her dragonet's silly antics. _No, I'm sorry, but I don't think so. Whirlpool would've told me if anything had happened._

River nodded. Now she could finally get to the question she had wanted to ask. _What about at Rift and Angler's ceremonies? Or Orca's ceremony._

Coral thought about if for a moment. _No, I don't think so. They all went completely according to plan._

River frowned. This didn't bode well for her theory. Yet, it had all made perfect sense! Where else could the gryphon have come from, and why else would Orca have all those scrolls on animus dragons in her room? _Alright, thank you, Mother._

Coral nodded, then looked back to her scroll. It was some report on the SeaWing treasury or battle plans, not of much interest to River. River started to head back to her room. Maybe Orca's powers just hadn't developed by two? That would explain it. Or maybe she had somehow hidden them.

Either way, what Coral had said still didn't disprove River's theory. She wondered what to do next. Queen Moorhen and Blister were coming to the Summer Palace again in a few weeks, maybe River could search for the gryphon again then. She would finally be able to get to the bottom of this, once and for all.


	13. Chapter 12

Torrent rapped his claws against Queen Moorhen's door in the Summer Palace. It had been a few weeks since the encounter with Sunscorcher, and the queens were ready to meet again. It was the first day of the meetings, and Moorhen had just arrived. Torrent knew that it was slightly rude of him to bother the MudWing queen on her first day in the palace, but he didn't care. Orca's soul was more important.

The guards let him in without any questions. They were the same ones as last time, and they recognized him. The MudWing queen was pacing around the room inside, with one of her brothers attempting to comfort her. Torrent wasn't sure what had happened, but it wasn't any of his business.

Queen Moorhen looked over at the SeaWing prince, and smiled, her stressed frown fading from her face. "Torrent, is it?"

Torrent nodded. "Yes, your majesty."

Moorhen chuckled jolily. "Good, good. My brother here thinks I'm becoming forgetful in my age, but he's doesn't know what he's talking about." She glanced over to the brother that she was talking too, who evidently didn't find this amusing. He frowned at Torrent and gave him an icy glare.

Torrent awkwardly turned away from the MudWing prince, unsure of the context here. He wondered how old Moorhen was, but didn't bother to ask, not wanting to appear rude. She was one of the oldest queens in Pyrrhia, the oldest if one didn't count the NightWings or RainWings, and no one really knew how old their queens were. Had she known Coral's grandmother? Or even her great-grandmother?

"Ah, yes," Moorhen continued. "You wanted some scrolls on animus dragons, correct? I found a number in our library that might be of interest to you. Unfortunately, we couldn't bring them into the Summer Palace, or else they would have gotten soaked in the tunnels. They're currently being kept on another island. Our royal librarian, Mallard, can bring you there; she's sleeping two caves down the tunnel. Is that alright?"

Torrent was surprised. It sounded like Moorhen had put together a lot of effort for him. He hadn't expected her to do that.

"Oh, one more thing," Moorhen said. "In exchange for sharing some of our scrolls, Mallard wanted to see some of yours. She said that she wanted some particularly on SeaWing chemistry. Does that work for you?"

Torrent nodded. He could ask Orca if she could get some of those from the Deep Palace. Hopefully, Coral or Gill wouldn't mind if she went back quickly, maybe they wouldn't even notice her missing. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he said in gratitude.

"It's no problem," Queen Moorhen replied, waving a claw aside.

Torrent left the room. Maybe, just maybe, this would work, and the scrolls would contain a way to save Orca. He could only hope.

* * *

Torrent slowly knocked on the door to Mallard's cave. Orca was behind him, carrying the scrolls Mallard had wanted. "Come in," a voice sounded from inside.

A small, burnt-orange MudWing was inside the room. She wasn't a dragonet, but was just smaller than Torrent. She looked up at the visitors. "What is it?" she demanded.

"Mallard, right?" Torrent asked. Mallard didn't respond, but just continued to look at him expectantly. "Queen Moorhen told us you could take us to the scrolls you had gotten."

Mallard nodded, then caught sight of the scrolls Orca was carrying. She quickly got up, and walked over to the SeaWing princess, then grabbed one of them. She looked it over, dragging her claws along the waterproof film. "Wow," Mallard said, admiring the waxy film as she turned the scroll from side to side, allowing it to reflect in the torchlight. "So that's how you keep them intact down in the Deep Palace? Ingenious."

She opened up the scroll, and the bottom of it hit the floor with a clatter. The MudWing quickly looked down the scroll. "Good, good," she muttered. She looked back at the two patient SeaWings. "You wanted your animus scrolls, right? Let me take you to them."

Mallard led the two SeaWings to the exit of the Summer Palace, where two SeaWing guards waited. One of them offered a blindfold to Mallard, and she took it with a glare and a hiss. "Is this really necessary?" she asked Orca.

"It is," Orca nodded with a bit of a sigh. "You can take it off after we're clear of the palace."

Mallard snorted and wrapped the cloth around her eyes, nestling it up against the back of her snout. "Do you SeaWings really need _two_ secret palaces?"

Orca didn't answer, and pushed Mallard into the water. Currently, renovations were underway to make the swim more accessible to dragons who couldn't breath underwater, particularly for Princess Blister. When SandWings wanted to go into the palace, they needed to bring a large sack of air with them in order to swim the entire length without drowning. To fix this issue, holes were being made in the tunnel roof so that a bubble of air could be placed there, allowing dragons to surface, but the air would have to be continuously replaced, which might prove troublesome. Fortunately for Mallard and the rest of the MudWings, they could easily hold their breaths long enough to make it through the tunnel without surfacing.

The flight to the island was long, and Mallard's company only made it feel longer. For a librarian, Mallard was talkative. She clambered on and on about the libraries in the Mud Kingdom, and how good they were compared to the SeaWing libraries. Orca tried to get her to switch subjects to animus dragons once, hoping Mallard could tell her something useful, but the librarian quickly turned back to bragging about her scroll collection.

A few MudWings were waiting at the island expectantly when the three arrived. As soon as Mallard, Orca, and Torrent touched down, they were given a large pile of scrolls. "You better read these quickly," Mallard commented, "this might be your only chance to see them."

Orca nodded. She had known that she would be unable to take them back to the Summer Palace, and had brought a long, blank scratchable scroll so that she and Torrent could take notes. While they started reading through their own scrolls, Mallard and the other MudWings read through the ones Orca had brought, copying them down as fast as possible.

By the time the two were done with the scrolls, the sun had almost set beneath the horizon. They had found nothing. Some interesting legends they hadn't heard before, and a fair amount of completely useless information on the animus Queen Fen, but nothing telling them how to stop an animus from losing their soul. Hopeless. Orca glared at the scroll that she and Torrent had been taking notes on. She wanted to tear it up in anger.

Torrent looked at Orca as if his eyes were trying to tell her that he was sorry. "Maybe there are more scrolls in the Sand Kingdom?" he asked, trying to inspire some hope.

Orca hissed at her brother. "There _aren't_ ," she hissed. "This was a stupid plan, and just a waste of time. Sunscorcher was right, there's no way to stop it." Orca threw the scroll of notes onto the sand, then dove into the ocean. Within a few minutes, she was gone.

Torrent watched his sister leave, and packed the scroll of notes into the scrollcase Orca had brought with her, the one where the map they had used to find Sunscorcher was kept. Orca was right, this had all been a waste of time. He should have known that it was too much to hope for. He had been useless.

"Your sister left?" Mallard asked Torrent. He turned around in surprise. He hadn't realized she was still there. Had she heard anything they'd just said?

Mallard glanced at the setting sun. "It's about time," she continued. "I'm done with my scrolls. Hope you're finished with yours, 'cause we're heading back to your palace now."

Torrent nodded, and with the MudWing librarian flying behind him, took flight, just as the sun had dipped below the horizon, and dusk had finally begun.

* * *

Blister walked into the Summer Palace, two SeaWings and two SandWings behind her. She was a day early, just as she had planned. A few SeaWings wading in the large lake in the palace center stared at the SandWing in shock. The whole palace grew quiet.

"Bring me Coral," Blister hissed at an unsuspecting SeaWing. The SeaWing, unsure what to do, froze in place as Blister glared.

Fortunately for the SeaWing, she was soon let off the hook. Queen Coral flew down from one of the great pavilions, landing in front of Blister. Gill followed closely behind her.

"Queen Blister, what is it?" Coral asked.

"I came here as fast as I could," Blister said, her head held low. Coral looked with concern. "It's RIft," Blister continued. "One of Scarlet's generals attacked him, and slit his throat in the fight."

"What?" a voice yelled. "Rift is dead? Rift?" Angler flew down to the dragons standing there, shaking in anger.

Blister nodded gravely. "My condolences."

"How?" Angler hissed, staring at Blister as if he wanted to rip her throat out.

"It was a sneak attack in the middle of the night," Blister replied, grimacing. "They set our camp on fire. The SkyWing general came straight for me, but Rift bravely flew in the way, and faced the general one on one. Your brother fought bravely, but the SkyWing won. I made sure that his death was well avenged, but the attack order came from a higher-up, Queen Scarlet herself, certainly. Those SkyWings are far too cowardly to face us on a fair battlefield." At this point, Blister's grimace had transformed to an almost angry growl, just on the verge of showing emotion.

Gill was still in shock. Rift had been killed? His son, Rift, was gone?

"We're leaving the war," Gill said suddenly. "You can fight this awful travesty with the MudWings, alone."

Blister frowned. "Leaving?" she asked. The SandWing princess turned to Coral for an answer.

Coral thought for a moment, then turned to her mate. "We really shouldn't be too hasty," she said. "You know as well as I do that leaving the war at this point could have serious consequences for all of Pyrrhia, not just our own kingdom."

"What?" Gill roared, slapping his tail on the ground in anger. The SeaWings in the pool started to form a small crowd around the royalty. "Do you just not care that Rift died? How many others will lose their children in the war if we continue? Who do you think will be next? Tempest? Shark? Orca? _Me?_ "

"If we continue," Blister interrupted, talking directly to Coral, "Rift's death won't be in vain. We will make the SkyWings pay dearly for his life; I'll order a hundred of our prisoners executed for him, and we'll drop their heads on Scarlet's ghoulish arena, with your son's name written upon their skulls in blood. Every one of us they kill, we'll kill ten more of theirs." Blister slowly swished her barbed tail back and forth.

"Quiet!" Queen Coral hissed at the SandWing princess, moving her jaws so close to Blister's that Coral could bite off Blister's snout if she so wish. The SandWing princess scuttled back in alarm, and just barely managed to avoid instinctively twisting her tail into an attacking position.

"I don't care for your petty revenge on the SkyWings, _Blister_ ," Queen Coral continued, leaving off the royal title Blister preferred. "Don't think I'm so stupid that I can't tell what you're trying to do." Blister looked at the SeaWing queen, feigning confusion.

Queen Coral turned to her mate. "And I _do_ care that Rift died, but I'm the queen to my tribe before a mother and mate. It's too late for us to leave the war now: all we can hope is that it will end quickly, and in our favor. If you want another son, we can make one, or two, or fifty more for all I care."

Gill stood, trembling in a furious anger. For a moment, it looked like he was going to lash out at Coral, but he did not. "Angler, we're leaving," he hissed. He turned around, and along with his eldest son, dove into the lake. The other SeaWings kept far away as the two swam past.

A whisper of a smirk appeared on Blister's snout, just before Queen Coral's claws swept it away, leaving behind a trail of blood. The two SandWing guards quickly readied their barbed tails, and ran towards their queen, attempting to wade through the water. In return, around ten SeaWings, maybe more, surrounded them, jumping out of the artificial pool and blocking their paths. More SeaWings moved between Blister and Queen Coral, ready to lay down their lives in order to protect their queen from any incoming attacks by Blister's barb.

Blister glared at the SeaWing queen in anger, but motioned her guards down. They lowered their barbs, and Blister made sure to keep hers tucked away and non-threatening. She placed her talons against her bleeding face, wiping away the blood. Her honor might have been offended, but Blister knew that any attempts to restore it through physical threats would end very, very poorly for her and her alliance. Hearing the commotion, Queen Moorhen poked a head out of her cave, but quickly tucked it back inside after seeing the scene.

"Do not think that just because my troops are fighting with yours, to help you get _your_ throne, that I will forgive you for what happened to my son, and that you will not pay for allowing it to happen. I am not the easily manipulated fool that you would like to think I am. Leave the Summer Palace, and return to whatever barren, sandy wasteland you came from. We will discuss war-plans at a later date."

Blister nodded with a straight face, keeping her pride as locked away as her barb. Grief was a powerful force, and could tear down even the strongest of queens. Queen Coral might have won this battle, but Blister would still yet win this war, and the next.


	14. Chapter 13

River swam down the long passage to Orca's room. It had been two months since the news of Rift's death had arrived, and River had decided to investigate her older sister's room again. Maybe this time, the gryphon would be there, or there would be another clue to what was really going on with Orca and Torrent behind the scenes. She had a little more than an hour before Torrent and Orca were free again, which would hopefully be plenty time to solve this mystery.

River stuck the spare key into Orca's door again, almost breaking the key, and unlocked it. She swept the door open, but again, it was empty. River sighed in frustration, but with a hint of relief. While she wanted to find out what the gryphon really was and if Orca was actually an animus, as River suspected, River was also frightened. If Orca was an animus, she had powers, and that could be very dangerous for her.

Again, River noticed some of the feathers on the floor, new ones. Where had they come from, if the gryphon wasn't in the room? River thought about it for a moment. They had to be keeping the gryphon somewhere. A palace servant surely would have mentioned it if they had seen the gryphon, so it was out of sight. Yet, the gryphon had to be able to get into Orca's room fairly easily, or else there would be no feathers. That meant the gryphon was being kept in one of the rooms near Orca's, probably a locked one: it could quickly get back and forth between the two rooms without being seen, since very few SeaWings ever came down here, Orca and Torrent being the sole exceptions.

River swam back outside Orca's room, locking it behind her. There were three rooms nearby, the gryphon had to be in one of them. Swimming as quietly as she could, River put her head up against one, hoping she could hear it. Nothing. She moved on to the next. Nothing—wait, no. There was a sound in the room, like something moving around. It was faint, but River could hear it. There was something alive, or at least somewhat alive, in the room, and River was almost certain what it was.

She glanced at the door lock. There was bound to be a spare key in Coral's room, and fortunately, her mother was with Orca at the moment, conducting more "queen preparation," of course. River quietly swam away from the gryphon's room, and as soon as she was out of hearing range, swam as fast as she could to her mother's bedroom. River wasn't sure how much time she had left, and she didn't know when she would have another chance.

When she entered Coral's bedroom, she quickly pulled out the box of spare keys beneath her bed. She tore her claws through them, looking for the right one for the room. She found it, and returned the box to its previous place.

River thought for a moment about her plan. She would capture the gryphon, and bring it to Coral in order to prove it was real. But how would she capture it? River remembered that there was a small fishing net in a storage room nearby, maybe she could use that.

River swam to the storage room, and rummaged around its contents, looking for the net. It took a few minutes of moving around useless junk before she got it, and even longer to untangle it, but she got it done. Grabbing the net, she swam back down the passage to Orca's room, attempting to keep it as untangled and as flat as possible.

The net and key in her talons, River stood in front of the door. The sound was still there, and this time, River was sure she would succeed. She slowly unlocked the door, and opened it, pushing aside the water behind it.

She looked inside, and sure enough, her guess was right. The small gryphon was inside the room, and looked up in surprise at the mischievously grinning River. River rushed inside, and slammed the door behind her to prevent the gryphon from easily escaping.

As River slowly swam forward, the gryphon backed away into the wall. River raised her net, and jumped at the gryphon, but she was too slow, and its tail slipped out from under the net. She growled in irritation, then swam after the gryphon, heading to the door. She wouldn't let it escape, not again.

As the gryphon attempted to open the door, River pounced on it, covering it with the fishing net. It tried to struggle loose, but the gryphon's feathered wings got caught in the net, tangling it further. After a short struggle, the gryphon was trapped beneath the net, glaring up at her.

River smirked triumphantly. She had done it. She had captured the gryphon. River would bring it to Queen Coral and show everyone Orca's lies, putting _River_ in line for the queen. Queen River. She liked the sound of that. What would mother think of her then?

"Let me _go_ ," a voice hissed. River jumped in shock. Where did the voice come from? There was no one here, and they were underwater. She glanced at the gryphon, frowning.

"Yes, I can talk," the gryphon said, almost reading River's mind. "Okay, you got me. Now let me go, alright?"

Had Orca enchanted it to speak? Weird. Did it understand Aquatic? _Now, why would I do that?_ River flashed. _I went to all this effort to capture you._

"Because you're a nice SeaWing?" the gryphon asked, slightly confused. "What do you want with me, anyways?"

River grinned, beaming. _I'm going to use you to become queen. Orca enchanted you, right?_

The gryphon nodded through the net. "She did. Your name is River, right? You're Torrent's sister?"

 _I am._

"Why do you need me to become queen?" the gryphon asked. "Can't you just challenge Queen Coral?"

 _Not before Orca does,_ River hissed, _and if she's an animus, then I have no chance of winning against her, or Coral beating her._

"Orca doesn't even want to be queen, though."

 _Maybe, but she doesn't want me to be queen more. She's said so, many many times. And now I'm going to beat her._

River thought for a moment. She didn't think she had much time left before Torrent and Orca came back. She needed to leave now. _We're going,_ she flashed, dragging the net with the gryphon with it through the water. The gryphon struggled a bit, but gave up, realizing that it was to no avail.

When she got outside, she started to swim down the path to the main part of the palace. She turned around the first corner, then quickly ducked back around, hiding behind the wall. Torrent and Orca were swimming down the hallway. Had she spent too much time? River didn't think they had seen her, but she didn't know where else to go. There wasn't another tunnel back to the main part of the palace as far as she knew, so she couldn't slip past Orca and Torrent. She had only one choice, she had to hide with the captured gryphon in one of the other rooms, and hope that Orca or Torrent didn't notice he was missing.

She started to turn around, changing the direction she was dragging the gryphon. "Change of pl—" the gryphon started to ask, before River clamped his beak shut with her claws.

 _Yes,_ she flashed, heading back to the room. She pushed the entangled gryphon into the room, went in after him, then quietly shut the door. Now, she had to wait, and hope that she wasn't discovered.


	15. Chapter 14

Twenty minutes before River went into hiding, Torrent had just finished his "Aquatic Grammar tutoring" with Whirlpool, probably the worst of the classes he had to take with the old freshwater breather. After soon as he was done, he swam to the room where Orca was, currently receiving lessons from Coral on queenship. The two were just finishing up, and Torrent impatiently waited on the outside of the room, watching.

After Coral and Orca finished, they walked over towards Torrent. _I see you two have made up?_ Queen Coral asked her children.

Torrent nodded. It hadn't taken long for Orca to apologize for her rudeness to him, and He was surprised Coral hadn't found that out yet, though she didn't seem to check on how they were doing all that often. The brother and sister still weren't exactly sure what to do now about Orca's magic, but at least they were still friends.

 _That's good. Siblings shouldn't stay angry for long. These are hard times, and we've been through alot, so I'm glad you still have each other._

Torrent was concerned for a moment: at first, he thought Coral somehow knew about Orca's problems with animus magic, but he quickly realized that his mother was talking about Rift's death. Torrent and Orca had both known Rift well, but grief was taking by far the largest toll on Gill and Angler. Angler was Rift's twin, and they had been a pair since birth. The eldest prince had been sulking alone in his room for the past two months. Gill was faring a bit better. He still appeared to be constantly gloomy, but at least he was out of his room.

 _Oh, yes, that's right,_ Coral flashed, suddenly remembering something. _I almost forgot, you two are going to have another sister soon! Her egg is in the royal hatchery if you would like to say hello._

Orca almost visibly groaned. She clearly didn't want another sibling, River was already enough. Torrent himself didn't care. Maybe the new dragonet would be nicer than their current sister. That wasn't too much to hope for, was it?

Orca and Torrent said their goodbyes to their mother, and headed down towards Orca's room quietly. Orca suddenly thought she heard something, or someone. Maybe Griffin, deciding to wander about the empty corridor? _Did you hear something?_ she asked Torrent.

Torrent shook his head. Orca frowned. _Can you go get Griffin?_ she asked Torrent.

Torrent nodded, and swam across the passageway to the room where Griffin was being kept. He took out the key, and unlocked the door. His talons clenched up when he saw who was inside.

 _Torrent, what's wrong?_ Orca asked after a moment.

 _River,_ Torrent flashed.

River lay on the ground in the room, holding down a fishing net containing a trapped Griffin. Griffin struggled to get free, but to no avail. River had a claw threateningly resting around Griffin's feathered throat, brushing under his coat of feathers.

Orca and Torrent entered the room. Orca hissed, and opened her jaws as if to say something.

 _Don't try to use your magic,_ River flashed. _I'll slit his throat._

The two SeaWing princesses stood, their eyes locked together in a stare. Torrent turned to Griffin, had River hurt him? Fortunately, he looked unharmed. Torrent wasn't exactly certain what would happen if Griffin's throat was cut open. Would he bleed? Would he drown? If he died, Orca wouldn't be able to bring him back: there was one rule of animus magic, and that was that one couldn't bring back the dead.

 _What do you want?_ Orca flashed, glaring at her sister with a scowl.

River thought for a moment, as if deciding what exactly to say. _Your magic,_ she finally responded. _I want you to enchant me to get your animus powers, then leave the Sea Kingdom forever._

Orca snorted and seethed. Torrent wasn't sure if she was able to do that. He hadn't heard any tales of animus powers being given before, but as far as he knew there was no rule against it. Yet, it still seemed wrong; there must be _some_ rule of magic preventing that.

If Orca did try and give her powers to River, what would happen to her soul? Would it be saved, or would it be harmed even further? It sounded like a large enchantment, what if trying to do it killed her?

 _Orca, don't do it,_ Torrent flashed quickly.

River looked impatiently, and slowly dragged her claw across Griffin's throat, drawing a red line of blood across it. He could clearly bleed. Griffin fidgeted from side to side in pain, looking up at Orca pleadingly.

 _River, that's not possible,_ Orca calmly replied to her younger sister. _That's not how animus magic works. Can we settle this someway else? I can enchant you something that will protect you in combat, or maybe something that will make dragons like you more._

River hissed at Orca. _And then what? You'll just let me keep it? No, as soon as I take my talons off your little pet, you'll zap me into oblivion or worse._

 _We don't have to settle this with violence, River,_ Orca replied exasperatedly. _We can work something out._ For some reason, Orca didn't seem too worried about Griffin's death. Torrent wondered if she was just trying to remain calm in front of River.

 _Oh, so now you want to work something out?_ River flashed. _Now that I have power? It's too late for that. You could've worked something out earlier: you've had four years to work something out. But no, you've ignored me, rejected me. You've always had your future planned. An animus queen of the SeaWings, destined to unite Pyrrhia under our tribe, right? You think I don't know what queens do with their sisters after they take the throne? What Oasis did, what Scarlet did? No, I'm going to become queen, and you should be grateful to me that I'm letting you live in exile. You wouldn't have done the same for me._

Suddenly, as River was distracting herself talking to Orca, Torrent tackled his sister from the side, pushing River away from the entangled Griffin. The two tumbled through the water, claws and wings flashing.

After creating a little space between them, Torrent used the classic SeaWing fight tactic of hitting her head with his thick tail, but River was too fast. She grabbed his tail, digging her claws into it, and used it to slam him into the ground. Torrent quickly got up and clawed at his sister's neck, but River rammed into Torrent's own neck and bit into it hard, making Torrent yelp out in pain. She grabbed his neck with her talons, and stabbed the thick claw on her wing into his back. She might have been smaller than her brother, but her constant fights with Moray had given her far more experience.

River placed a claw in front of Torrent's neck, directly on one of his arteries. She pushed his neck against her own, pinning it in place. A single motion and she could end Torrent's life. He went still, knowing he had lost the fight.

 _Now,_ River flashed to Orca, _let's see if you care about your brother more than your p—_

The string of pearls draped on River's neck suddenly morphed into sharp metal blades, and contracted around her neck, instantly severing her head from the rest of her body. Her claws clenched, poking between Torrent's scales, but they didn't puncture through the spaces between them. River's violet-scaled head slowly floated down to the stone floor, blood streaming from the severed base, staining the water red.

Orca stood from the side, glaring as her dead sister's severed head hit the ground, laying to rest on the ground. Her mouth was stretched in a determined grimace, and her eyes glared in anger at her dead sister's dull eyes. _Torrent, are you alright?_ she asked.

Torrent stood in shock as his twin sister's body fell to the paved floor, the water around her neck stump turning a bright red.

Orca walked over to the entangled Griffin, who had fortunately been turned away from the gruesome scene. With a few muttered words under her breath, the fishing net rose up and disentangled itself from Griffin. He placed a talon against his bleeding neck, feeling his wound and wincing in pain as the saltwater flooded into it. He turned around, and seeing River's remains, almost retched into the water.

"What did—" Griffin started to ask.

 _Let's clean this up,_ Orca flashed, interrupting whatever Griffin was about to say. She grabbed River's head by the horns almost triumphantly, and was about to exit the room with it, before thinking better of it. _Wait, no, I have another idea,_ Orca flashed.

She swam over to River's body, and opened a small pouch River had been carrying, letting the contents fall out and get caught in the flow of the red water. Among them were a couple of Griffin's feathers, the spare keys to Orca and Griffin's rooms, a small scroll, a locket containing a dragonet's drawing of River and Coral, a waxed parchment paper containing a claw-written note from Rift and a small pebble that Orca recognized as the one she had enchanted so long ago.

Orca claws quickly enclosed around the pebble, and she pulled it up in front of her snout, inspecting it. "I enchant this pebble so that as long as it is underwater, no dragon except for myself, Torrent, and Griffin are able to remember River."

 _What, no!_ Torrent protested. He tried to grab the pebble out of Orca's claws, but she pulled it away from him. _You can't do that!_

 _I can,_ Orca flashed back, _and it's for the better. This way even if someone does find her body, no one will care. She was just some random SeaWing no one remembered now._

Torrent stared at Orca, frightened. This wasn't the Orca he knew, it couldn't have been.

 _Anyways,_ Orca continued, _this way no one will have to grieve for her, Angler and father in particular._

 _She was murdered, she didn't just die! Why?_ Torrent asked.

 _Why what?_ Orca snapped. _Why did I kill her? She was going to kill you, so I did what I had to protect us. The little brat deserved it anyways, remember how mean she always was to you? It's not like I had a choice!_

Torrent nodded with a gulp, not wanting to further anger his sister. She wouldn't hurt him, would she? The legend of Albatross suddenly came to mind. The first animus dragon Torrent had heard of. He had killed his family, even those whom he had loved.

Orca examined the enchanted pebble for a moment, thinking. Seeing Torrent's expression, she flashed, _I'm not going to hurt you._ _I'm not going to hurt anyone, ever again. Come on._

Orca left Griffin's room, and headed to her own, Torrent and Griffin cautiously following behind her. They gave each other a glance. This wasn't good. Torrent looked over at the dagger Orca had created, still on her desk. Orca noticed his glance.

 _What, you think I've lost my soul?_ Orca flashed with a growl. _You want to kill me? Then go ahead! I won't stop you._

 _No, I didn't mean that!_ Torrent quickly replied. _I don't want to kill you, I'm just . . ._

 _Worried?_ Orca asked with a sigh. She took a deep breath, and covered her snout with a claws. _Well, maybe you should be._

Orca glanced around the room, and her eyes landed on the jewel-eyed headbusts of her parents. She went over to them, and pried off one of the eyes from each statue: the emerald from her father, and the black pearl from her mother. She muttered something, dagger on the desk flew over into her claws, and three small indentations appeared in its hilt, about the size of the gemstones she had pried from her parents' jeweled eyes.

Orca took off the small golden band, still around her wrist, and used her claws to pry off the amethyst embedded in it. She placed it on one of the holes in the dagger's hilt, and it locked into place.

She held out the two gemstones she had taken from her parents' busts. "I enchant this emerald so that when it is touched, it permanently removes all enchantments on items the blade of the dagger is touching, not including the dagger itself, and I enchant this pearl so that if the dagger it's attached to is touching an animus, the dragon it cuts into is turned to stone." She placed the two gemstones into the dagger, locking them into place.

Orca placed the completed weapon in Torrent's claws, and looked at him expectantly. _Well?_ she flashed.

Torrent glanced at Orca in confusion. _What is it for?_ he asked.

 _So you can kill me,_ she replied. She took the dagger, and turned it around in Torrent's claws so that the tip was resting against her chest. Torrent's claws shook, and he threw the dagger aside.

 _I'm not going to kill you!_ he flashed. _You're going to be fine, okay? You haven't lost your soul._

Orca snarled. "Dagger, return to Torrent." The dagger slowly floated up through the water, back into Torrent's claws. _It's too late for me,_ she hissed. _If you don't kill me now, I'm just going to harm more dragons. Maybe Coral next, or Gill, or Angler. Do you want me to do that?_

 _No,_ Torrent refused. _I won't kill you, and I know you don't have it in you to kill them._

 _You're weak,_ Orca flashed angrily. _You have to do it. Sunscorcher was right about animus dragons. I can hear the voices she was talking about now. They want me to kill you, and everyone else who might get in my way. But I won't listen to them, not yet. You need to kill me, then every animus dragon in Pyrrhia. You've seen the legends, you know what we can do. Kill me._

Torrent shook his head, and swam out of the room. Orca let him go. She glared at Griffin, who was still sitting there, too fearful to move. _Leave,_ she flashed solemnly. _Before I hurt you too._

Griffin scrambled from the room, swimming away as fast as he could. Orca was left to herself in her room. The dagger she had enchanted for Torrent slowly clattered across the floor, attempting to return itself to Torrent. After it moved itself out of Orca's room and into the passageway, she closed her door, the SeaWing princess locking it behind her.


	16. Chapter 15

Orca paced back and forth across her room, her teeth clenched together. Why had she killed River? Sure, Orca was protecting Torrent's life, but there were other ways she could have done it. _Enchant this necklace to teleport its wearer to the Summer Palace,_ Orca thought. _Or enchant it to make River fall unconscious as long as she wears it._ _There were plenty of other options! But no, I just had to choose the one which_ killed _her._ First she had used her magic to kill Sunscorcher, then her own sister. There was only one option: Orca had used too much of her magic, and had lost her soul.

She wondered what to do. Obviously, there was only one choice, if she truly wanted to protect her family, death. But Orca didn't _want_ to die. She shuddered at the thought, and she caught a glimpse of the bracelet she had enchanted to protect her soul, still in her claws. What good that did her. She flung it away, being gently stopped by the water and sinking to the floor.

Maybe she didn't need to die after all. Sure, she had to be more careful when making her enchantments, but she didn't particularly _feel_ evil. And think of all the good that an animus dragon could do for the SeaWings if she was queen! The war could be over in an instant, and no more SeaWing lives could be lost. With the right spell, _every_ war, ever, could be over!

She thought back to River. With River out of the way, it's not like there was anyone else to challenge her mother. Sure, there was the egg in the nursery, but it wouldn't be ready to claim the throne for another seven years. And if things kept up as they were, that would be seven more years of war. Seven more years of dragons dying, of families losing brothers and sisters. An image of Rift passed beneath Orca's eyes. If she became queen now, all of that would be over.

Orca felt almost giddy about it. She hadn't expected, or even considered challenging her mother for the throne for many more years, she was just barely seven right now, and any fight against Coral would be doom for her. But Orca had _magic_. With the right spell, it would be easier than eating a fish.

Orca looked back at the golden bracelet she had thrown away. She picked it up; it would now serve another use. She could make her scales harder than diamond, or slipperier than an eel, but that seemed too roundabout. Why not just make the enchantment direct?

"I enchant this bracelet so that Coral can't harm me," she whispered, ensuring her victory. She felt a chill through her scales and smiled. She was sure to win her fight and become queen. What could go wrong?  
Orca opened her bedroom door, and left it. She looked back to the door as she locked it. Tomorrow night, she would be sleeping in her mother's quarters. She smiled excitedly, and turned to leave the labyrinth beneath the Deep Palace.

After a long swim, Orca reached to Coral's bedroom and knocked on the door. Her mother opened it for her, looking at her daughter as if nothing had changed. But it had, Coral just didn't know it yet. Orca was finally ready to claim her birthright. _What is it, Orca?_ Coral asked in confusion. It wasn't often her daughter came up to talk.

 _I'm challenging you for the throne,_ Orca flashed back. Coral stared in shock, still taking in what Orca had said. _I'll see you outside the Deep Palace at the break of dawn._

Orca shut the door in Coral's snout, and gleefully swam down to her room. Things were going perfectly. She would be queen by sundown tomorrow, and Pyrrhia would be in an eternal peace within the week. Nothing could go wrong, unless . . .

 _Animus magic is passed down through families,_ Orca remembered in a sudden shock. _Torrent, Angler, and Moray don't have it, and neither did River nor Rift._ But what if her new sister did.

Her heart racing, she rushed towards the royal hatchery. An animus princess, her sister. Someone who could challenge her and become queen herself. Orca shuddered. She was able to control her magic, and keep her soul intact. What if her sister wasn't the same way? What if she was like _Albatross_?

She reached the royal hatchery, just outside of the Deep Palace. There was one guard on duty that Orca needed to get past. She picked up a small strand of kelp and quickly enchanted it to make the holder unnoticeable to others. She felt a small shiver as she did it, but ignored it.

Orca entered the dark hatchery, and looked for the egg. It was sitting alone, all unprotected and vulnerable. Small green spirals were on its surface, barely visible against the darker green of the eggshell. She picked it up and nestled it in her claws, examining it with fervor from all angles.

She gritted her teeth. "Egg, flash light if you're going to be an animus," she whispered into the water.

Orca paused for a moment, and a smidgen of relief washed over her when suddenly a burst of light lit up from the egg. The light spread across the hatchery, and lighting up the empty stone halls. Orca trembled. She should have known. Since, animus magic was passed through families: any one of her mother's possible children, or her own future children, could have it.

 _Kill it,_ a small voice whispered in the back of Orca's head. She knew that was what she should do, just to be safe. The dragonet was her sister, and could challenge her for the throne. Once the dragonet was old enough, it would kill Orca without a second thought with or without her magic. Why shouldn't Orca do the same to it?

Orca raised her claws, ready to slam the egg into the stone walls. Yet, Orca hesitated. This just seemed wrong. The dragonet was innocent, it hadn't killed anyone yet with its magic. It was also Orca's sibling. Like Torrent, Rift, Angler, and even River.

Orca set the egg down and put her claws to her face. She couldn't do it, but she knew she had to. Not just for her sake, but for all of Pyrrhia's. The dragonet would be an animus, and one of those in the Sea Kingdom was surely enough. It had to die. She thought out the enchantment in her head, and spoke it aloud.

"I enchant the stone floor to turn into an inconspicuous statue of myself, which attacks royal heirs to the throne when no dragon is looking."

Bubbles appeared from the rock below, and the stone morphed, unnaturally twisting and twirling into a perfect replica of Orca herself, carrying a spear. The statue was a dark green marble, with blue sapphire eyes glaring straight at Orca herself, as if her own magic was judging her. Orca's name was engraved in flowing letters at the base, far more perfect than any dragon could write.

Orca left the room for a moment, and waited outside for a few minutes, looking at the guard, who remained unaware of her. He was a young SeaWing: determined to fulfill his duty of protecting the royal family. When she became queen, she would make sure he was pardoned for her own actions.

Orca turned back to the dark room, and re-entered it. Eggshell was strewn all about the room, and Orca turned away, not wanting to look. The statue was just as she had left it. Guilt flooded her mind. _Three dragons I've killed now, and two of them my own sisters,_ she thought to herself in shame. Well, wasn't that just how things were in Pyrrhia? Sister against sister, mother against daughter? As an animus, a descendant of Albatross, and a princess in line for the throne, the death of her family wasn't a choice. It was engraved in stone, it was her destiny.


	17. Chapter 16

Torrent woke up to a sharp rap on his door. Was it Orca? He shuddered, suddenly remembering the events of last night. River was dead, at Orca's claws. He yawned slightly. It was early in the morning, much earlier than he preferred.

Torrent opened up the door, Angler stood there, looking worse than ever. No hint of a smile crossed his milky-green scales, and he looked as if he had hardly slept. His wings were hunched over his back, and his eyes strained to look at Torrent. Torrent wondered if Gill had heard about River's death, then realized that he wouldn't have: Orca's enchantment would have kept him from even remembering her. Looking at Angler's expression, maybe Orca was right and it was for the better.

 _I'm glad you're out of your room, Angler,_ Torrent flashed.

Angler shook his head, as if denying Torrent's statement. _Did nobody tell you?_ he asked. _Orca has challenged mother for the throne._

 _What?_ Torrent flashed in alarm. Orca? Challenging mother? What was she thinking, she'll get herself killed! Unless. . . _We have to stop her!_ he shouted.

Angler shrugged, and sighed as he was pitying Torrent's hope, looking down on him in scorn. _It's far too late. Coral accepted the challenge, and they're fighting at dawn on Orca's request. You might be able to make it to the arena if you hurry, but I wouldn't. One of them will have to die, and we'll have yet another dead family member. Just the dragon way._ Angler looked pleadingly at Torrent, as if he wanted his younger brother to say something to make it alright, but Torrent didn't know what to say to comfort him.

 _I just thought you should know, since you were the closest to her,_ Angler continued. _I'm sorry._ Angler left Torrent's room, presumably swimming back to his own.

Torrent took a deep breath in through his gills. He knew how the battle would end, and it wouldn't turn out good for Coral. Orca had her animus powers, there was no way she could lose. Torrent looked around the room, and a flash of metal caught his eye. The dagger Orca had given him had apparently moved itself to his room, even though he had left it. Maybe that was Orca's game—if Torrent didn't kill her like she had asked, she would become Queen of the SeaWings.

Yet, Torrent knew he couldn't kill her. Orca was his sister, his best friend. He wouldn't kill her, no matter what. Even if she became some animus monster and decided to take over the Sea Kingdom. Then what could he do? Torrent would flee the Sea Kingdom. The MudWings were still allies with the SeaWings, he could stay there, and find a way to save Orca. Moorhen seemed to like Torrent, maybe she would let him stay with her, and it sounded like Mallard had even more scrolls than the ones she had given them to read, maybe one of them would tell him how to save Orca, or at least find a solution better than killing her. He glanced at the dagger. He wouldn't have to use it on her, not now, not ever. He kicked it away.

Torrent grabbed the scrollcase containing the notes on animus legends he had compiled with Orca, then a small satchel which in he stuffed a few salted fish into, along with a couple pieces of jewelry his mother had given him as presents. He didn't have many other belongings to take. As he left the room, the dagger started to rattle, slowly moving towards him. After he took a quick last look at his room, Torrent shut the door on it. Hopefully that would stop the pestering dagger, at least for a while.

Torrent swam down to the exit of the palace. It was even emptier than normal: only one guard remained, the rest of the guards and servants had swam to the arena in which the royal challenge was taking place. Torrent looked over to it. Was it really alright to leave the Sea Kingdom in the talons of Orca? But what other choice did he have, killing her? Hopefully she would be a good queen, at least until Torrent could find some way to stop her, or maybe even save her.

He glanced back at the palace in which he was raised. The Deep Palace stood, dark and ominous, various rooms scattered around the original palace nestled in the center, as if someone had dropped them from the surface of the ocean, letting them settle in the sand. Torrent wondered when he would see it again. Sure, he had left the palace plenty of times, but he'd only been out of the Sea Kingdom once, when he, Orca, and Griffin went to find Sunscorcher. Maybe one day, if he could help Orca, he'd return. He turned away, and swam towards the ocean surface far above.

Torrent burst out of the water, taking flight. He took in a breath of the salty ocean air. Seagulls called from afar, as if beckoning him to join the outside world beyond the ocean. The SeaWing prince glanced at the sun, just now rising above the horizon. Far below, Orca was just now engaging in a bloody combat with Coral. Torrent looked down to the shimmering surface of the waves, but saw nothing beneath.  
Using the sun as his guide, Torrent headed south, towards the Mud Kingdom, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Torrent!" Griffin called. "Wait up!"

Griffin quickly caught up to Torrent. "Where are you going?" he asked excitedly, glancing constantly at the clouds above, just like a jittery dragonet.

"The Mud Kingdom," Torrent replied solemnly, "to Queen Moorhen's Palace. How did you get out of the Deep Palace? Did anyone see you?"

Griffin shrugged his feathered forearms. "Maybe? It's not like it really matters anymore, does it? If Orca became queen, I wouldn't have to live in hiding anymore, wouldn't that be great?"

"No, it would be awful," Torrent growled. "She's used too much magic. I don't know what she's going to do to the Sea Kingdom."

Griffin looked slightly hurt. "What if she's a good queen?"

Torrent thought for a moment. That was his hope, but it wouldn't be true. "She won't be. The Orca we knew died with River."

Griffin remained silent for a moment, his beak contorted into a twist of a frown. "Alright then. How are you going to sneak me into Queen Moorhen's Palace?"

"We're not," Torrent replied in exasperation. " _I_ am. You're not going with me."

"What?" Griffin squawked. "What do you mean, not going with you? I mean, I could just stay outside the palace until you find a way to get me in, but that would get kind of lonely. . ."

"I mean you're not coming with me at all!" Torrent yelled, his claws twitching in anger. "I don't want you anymore!"  
Griffin ruffled his feathers, clenching his talons. "You don't want me anymore? What do you think I am, some pet you can order around? Well, you know what, maybe I don't want _you_ anymore!"

Griffin spat into the sea below, then turned tail, gliding off to the west. Griffin glanced back a few times to see if Torrent would fly after him, but Torrent kept on his course, not looking back. He didn't need Griffin, he didn't need anyone.

After a few minutes, Griffin was completely out of view. Torrent glanced back to the ocean far behind him, in the direction of the Deep Palace. Somewhere below, Orca would have just killed Queen Coral, and someone would be crowning her as the new Queen of the SeaWings.

* * *

Orca slowly swam in a circle, her mother at the other side. Orca tried to lock her eyes on Coral in determination, but Coral looked away in shame. _Look at me, mother,_ Orca flashed, but got no response. This would be easy for Orca.

Coral, on the other claw, looked quite distressed. It was far too early for Orca to challenge her, and she knew that her daughter didn't stand a chance in combat. Whereas Coral had been well-prepared for her challenge and years older, Orca was just barely seven, and her combat training had been lacking at best. Coral nervously rubbed at her pearl necklace. She just didn't understand why Orca had bothered to challenge her, why now?

Orca lunged at her mother, claws outstretched, Coral deftly dodged, the decorative narwhal horn on her tail slipping through her daughter's claws. Even though she was much older than her daughter, the two were about the same size. Orca had gotten that from Gill.

After a short moment of hesitation, Coral came in for a strike, diving beneath her daughter and clawing at her green belly, but Coral's claws slipped off Orca's scales to no effect. Orca in return dove down and plunged her claws into Coral's backside, the queen's blood spraying into the ocean. The guards scanned the seas for hungry sharks.

 _You don't have to do this,_ Coral flashed. _I can call off the match._

Coral nimbly swam up, pushing Orca off, then slammed her huge SeaWing tail into Orca's side. Although she was almost certain she had made contact, Orca came out from beneath it and grabbed Coral's tail, dragging her down. Coral attempted to claw at Orca, but to no avail, as Orca pulled Coral to a pillar of the Deep Palace and slammed her into it. A large sound reverberated through the water, and when Coral finally got up, a crack had formed in the pillar. Orca was winning.

 _Yes, I do,_ Orca replied, her expression emotionless.

Coral rushed towards her daughter, claws outstretched. Orca attempted to dodge, but Coral was too fast, and the SeaWing queen's claws grabbed onto Orca's neck. Yet, they slid right off her scales, and Orca slammed her tail into Coral's neck, throwing her through the water.

Coral cringed in pain; she was almost certain Orca had broken something. She tried to swim up through the water back into the fight, but a sharp pain rattled through her spine. Orca took advantage of that, and swam straight towards her mother, claws wide open and ready to kill.

Coral curled up, and braced for the impact, curling her tail up defensively. She closed her eyes in resignation. This would be the end of her reign. The Sea Kingdom would be fine, Orca had been well prepared for the throne. So would Gill. He would be hurting, but he would get through it. Maybe he would find a new mate. Coral hoped that for him, he deserved to be happy.

She thought about what she had done during her reign. Not much, truly. The Sea Kingdom was much the same as it was before, except now she had brought them into a world war. Orca would finish the war her mother had started, and Coral would be forgotten within a century or two. Not that it mattered much now; whether or not Coral got a place in the history scrolls, she would be dead.

Suddenly, Coral felt a large jolt on her tail, painfully jamming it back into her spine. The queen yelped in pain, but Coral wasn't dead. The SeaWing queen opened her eyes to see her only daughter impaled on the narwhal horn that was decorating Coral's tail. Orca's blood started to spread, staining the surrounding water red. A few of the guards around the fight looked around cautiously, ready to fight off any sharks who wanted a free meal. Coral stared in surprise. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.

Evidently, Orca hadn't suspected this either. She glanced at the small golden band on her wrist, then at the narwhal horn sticking through her. Suddenly, Orca laughed. The enchantment had protected her from Coral, yet it was Orca who had accidentally impaled herself. She had trusted her magic to let her win, but in the end, it had betrayed her. _I did this all wrong,_ she flashed to herself, silently laughing in the water.

Orca tried to free herself from the narwhal horn, but to no avail. _Why?_ Coral asked. _Why couldn't you have waited longer? You could've been a strong queen, you know, the best the SeaWings could've ever hoped for. No other heir of mine could ever be like you._ Small tears started to form in the corner of Coral's eyes, quickly being washed away by the salty currents.

Orca smirked, remembering that Coral wouldn't ever have more heirs. It would be awhile before she could see her mother in whatever hell they were sent to. She shook her head. _You're going to rule forever, aren't you, Mother? You should thank me, no one can stop you now._

Coral wrapped her forepaws and wings around her daughter, wanting a final embrace. Orca tried to push her away, but she was unable to, her vision was fading. She thought about making a final enchantment, something to save her. She glanced at the narwhal horn, and opened her mouth, but instead of words, blood flooded her mouth. She retched at the sickening taste, just causing more blood to spurt up.

She was getting dizzy. This was what she had wanted, anyways. Torrent wouldn't have to kill her, she had accidentally done it herself.

She wondered where Torrent was right now. Was he watching? It was too late to care. Death was approaching quickly, and she welcomed him with open wings. Maybe she could apologize to River. Orca was sorry for killing her sister, she hadn't really deserved it. The unhatched dragonet in the egg the statue had broken, too. Along with the rest of the dragonets the statue would kill in the future. Wow, Orca really hadn't been a good sister, had she? Well, it could've been worse. There was Albatross, he had ki—

Orca tried to breathe water into her gills, then air into her lungs, but there was too much blood. Her body started convulsing, desperately trying to get more air and repair itself, but even with all her animus magic, Orca had no chance.

Her body slid off the narwhal horn, down to the ocean floor below. Coral stared, watching her final daughter fall to the frigid depths of the ocean, just like Coral's own mother had done, so many years ago, and how Coral's body would one day fall in front of one of her own yet unborn daughters. But today was not that day. Coral had lived to be queen, and Orca had not.


	18. Chapter 17

A freezing wind blew against the shutters of a house, wrapped in ice and snow. The dark night was lit up by colorful lights, dancing across the starry background. In the most northern reaches of the Ice Kingdom, a young IceWing huddled beneath a floorboard, trying hard to keep her breath as quiet and shallow as possible. Walls of frozen dirt pushed up against her wings.

 _Keep calm, Crystal,_ she thought, _they can't hear you. They won't hear you._ She kept her breath shallow.

She heard the sound of clawsteps above her, and saw a razor sharp claw between the floorboards. Two adult IceWings. Palace guards. A third followed into the room after her.

"When is the last time you saw your sister?" a gruff voice asked, one of the guards. His spiny tail gently tapped on the floorboard above Crystal. If he noticed that the floor beneath was hollow, Crystal would be executed by the end of the day. No amount of rapport with Queen Glacier could make up for her crimes.

"Months. That ungrateful walrus decided she was too good for me after our father took her in." That was a voice Crystal recognized well, her sister, Clarity. She was five years older than her, in the Fourth Circle, though Crystal well knew Clarity could rise much further in the rankings if she truly wanted. "What do you want with her?" Clarity quizzed the guards. "I thought she was living in the palace now, why would she come all the way out here?"

The guard didn't answer Clarity's question, but continued looking poking around the room. "Do you know what she stole?" he asked.

"No idea," Clarity replied with a laugh. "What did she do, run off with Queen Glacier's crown or something? Decided she wanted to be queen for a change?" Clarity snorted. The guards didn't appear to find this so funny. One of them tapped his claw on the floorboard in impatience. Crystal held back a gulp. If he realized it was hollow underneath . . .

Crystal gently rubbed her claws down the small silver chain around her neck until they reached the perfectly spherical stone hanging from it. The stone was pretty, but didn't seem like anything special at first glance. It was a dark, dark purple, almost black. It was faintly translucent, and Crystal could see small particles of glowing violet swirling around inside, even in the almost absolute darkness. It certainly wasn't the queen's crown, but to Queen Glacier, it might be even more important.

The guards continued poking around for a few more minutes, until Crystal finally heard them walking towards the exit. "Make sure to give that brat my regards when you find her!" Clarity called after the two guards as they shut the door. Crystal breathed a sigh of relief; she was safe for now.

Clarity walked back into the room, and tapped a claw on the floorboards, trying to find the hollow space her sister was hiding in. When she heard an empty echo, she pulled the loose floorboards off, revealing Crystal, curled up in the small space. Clarity glared at her sister as Crystal slowly crawled out of the hole. "Okay, start talking," Clarity demanded. "What did you steal?"

Crystal held up the small spherical stone around her neck. "It's a weapon," she said, attempting to explain. "Queen Glacier wants to use it to destroy the MudWings."

Clarity looked at her younger sister skeptically, and bend down to touch the stone. Crystal nervously allowed her to touch it. "A weapon that can destroy the MudWings?" She laughed. "Does it work?"

Crystal shook her head. "Not yet, but Father thought it was almost complete. That's why I stole it. They won't be able to make another one, either, at least not before the war is finished."

Crystal sounded serious, and Clarity knew she was telling the truth. She might not have always gotten along with her younger sister, but she knew Crystal trusted Clarity with her life. That's why she had come here for refuge. "If it can really do all that, then you need to leave the Ice Kingdom, soon. Tonight if possible. They'll be back here, and I can't guarantee they won't find you next time."

Crystal nodded in agreement. She had known the consequences of taking the Darkstone when she had taken it. She rubbed between her claws. She had tried destroying it, but it hadn't worked. Crystal just had to take it with her, and the safest place was as far away from the Ice Kingdom as possible. The Sea Kingdom, if possible.

Clarity pulled out a scroll from a case, and unrolled it to reveal a map of Pyrrhia. She pointed her claw at a location just south of Queen Glacier's palace. As Crystal had suspected, Clarity had an escape plan prepared already, albeit it was intended for Clarity's use, not Crystal's. She and her mate were members of some anti-war group, if Crystal recalled correctly. She hadn't done a very good job of keeping up with her sister since she'd been apprenticed to Boreal.

"This is where we are now. Go due southeast. Not north, they'll expect you to follow the northern coast or the edge of the mountain range. Avoid towns on the way. Once you get to the eastern coast, follow it to the south, but only fly at night. The guards won't be able to see you as well then. You'll cross the Great Ice Cliff, but continue only flying at night until you get here." Clarity pointed a claw just south of the mouth of the Five-Tailed River. "I have a SkyWing friend there, her name is Avalanche. She lives in a house with blue shingles, and has bright red scales. Just tell her I sent you, she'll make sure you get through the Sky Kingdom safely."

Crystal nodded, rolled up the map, and put it into her satchel. Clarity gave her some salted seal meat, and Crystal added that with the map. "Thank you," she said to her sister, giving Clarity a quick hug with her wings.

"It's nothing," Clarity replied, pushing her sister away. "Just hurry, and be safe. May the Great Ice Dragon fly beside you." She pulled a scroll on her shelf partially out, and twisted it twice to the left, once to the right, then pushed it in again. Clarity grabbed the scrollshelf, and moved it to the side, exposing a small, narrow passageway with steep steps leading down into the frozen earth, barely large enough for Crystal to fit through. "This will get you just outside of the house, but you'll need to get flying as soon as you leave the tunnel. The guards will be watching the house for a while; I'll try and distract them after you get out."

Crystal nodded, and crept down into the passageway. The IceWing dragonet coughed slightly as the dust entered her airways, but continued on. She looked back, hoping to see her sister one last time, but Clarity was already moving the shelf again.

The passageway went completely dark, so Crystal's very limited IceWing nightvision was no use in helping her see anything. She had enough room to turn around, so she could only hope that the tunnel was unimpeded. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself, Crystal slowly walked through the tunnel, the frozen dirt closing in on her all around. She coughed, wincing as the sound echoed through.

It only took a couple minutes for Crystal to reach the exit, though it felt like much longer. There was a thin wall at the end. Crystal placed her claw around the edges of the wall: it was only loosely fitted in place. She pushed against it, and it slowly moved, pushing aside the snow that had piled up behind and on top of it. Crystal dug her claws into the cold ground of the tunnel, and shoved her body against the wall. It went another foot, and a mound of snow fell on her snout. Above, she saw the sky, green lights like waves flooding across it. She pushed against the wall one more time, and it finally moved enough for her to escape the tunnel.

Crystal clawed her way through the exit tunnel, pulling the rest of her body up. Her underbelly got caught on the top of the wall, before she pulled herself over and fell, snout-first, into the snow below. She shook herself off, and looked back. Clarity's voice could be heard in the distance, around the front of the house. Distracting the guards.

Crystal said a silent thank you, and spread open her wings. She gently pushed down with them, supplying the lift in order for her to take off. After getting to a sufficient height, she glanced back at the house. Clarity must have drawn the guards inside the house to let Crystal make her get-away. Much further in the distance, a dim light could be seen, the conglomeration of moon-globes in the palace. Crystal looked the other way, towards the south east. Nothing. Nervously rubbing the Darkstone between her talons, Crystal flapped her wings hard, flying as fast as a SkyWing.


	19. Chapter 18

Torrent finally arrived at the only place outside of the Sea Kingdom he thought he could take refuge in: Queen Moorhen's Palace. The sun was drooping low in the sky, and Torrent's wings were heavy from the long flight behind him. His sore wings and scales were caked with dried mud and grime from the mudhuts where he'd slept in the nights between his flying, and dirt had gotten between his scales. Not at all befitting of a SeaWing prince.

There had been a number of wary and angry glares from MudWings below as Torrent passed over the MudWing marshes and swamps below, but due to the alliance of the two kingdoms, Torrent had passed through the MudWing territory unhindered. The oppressive humid heat of the Mud Kingdom had made flying much more exhausting, but Torrent was able to make it far enough into the mainland to find the palace.

Occasionally, Torrent had glanced back to see if Griffin was following him, but the gryphon seemed to have left him. Torrent felt guilty; he shouldn't have told Griffin to just go away like that, but it was too late now, wasn't it. He wondered where Griffin had gone off to after he'd left. Had Griffin stayed in the Deep Palace? Was he even in the Sea Kingdom anymore?

As he approached Queen Moorhen's palace didn't look much like a palace to Torrent, but then again, he hadn't seen very many palaces. The Summer Palace was hardly a traditional palace — it could only be seen from the inside — and the Deep Palace was underwater. Queen Moorhen's palace had high walls on the outside, enclosing a number of square spires and the main portion of palace on the inside.

Torrent wondered why the palace needed walls. The Deep Palace didn't have walls, but then again, it didn't need defenses. Yet, the walls didn't seem like useful protection from flying invaders. Torrent looked down at the houses and the city between the walls and the palace. Maybe the walls helped block the city from attacks, instead of the palace?

Torrent landed at the bottom of the walls, where a large gate stood. A number of guards eyed him suspiciously. He smiled in return.

"You!" one MudWing called. "SeaWing! What's your reason for entry?" A few of the others crowded around Torrent, and snickered.

"I'm here to see Queen Moorhen," Torrent responded truthfully, tensing up as they approached, "I've come to ask her to stay in the palace for a short while."

The MudWings looked at each other, as if trying to figure out of Torrent was being serious or not. When they decided he was, they burst out in laughter. "Queen Moorhen doesn't have time for SeaWing dragonets," one of the MudWings replied snarkily. "Go back to the watery depths you came from."

Torrent uncomfortably raised a wing, revealing the starbursts below. He lit them up, indicating that he was SeaWing royalty, and hoped the MudWings would recognize the symbols.

One of the guards raised his wings and reared up onto his hind legs. "What, you wanna fight?" he asked, thinking Torrent was offering a challenge. "You think that just because we're allies now, we've forgiven you for the last war?" He staggered towards Torrent, before one of the other guards latched her claws around his tail, pulling him back, causing him to lose his balance.

"Shut up," the second guard hissed. She bowed to Torrent. "Our sincerest apologies, your majesty." Realizing what was going on, the other guards immediately bowed their heads to the ground. The MudWing who had asked to fight gulped warily.

"Just take me to the queen," Torrent growled. This had been far from a good trip, and he would be glad to see it over. He thought back to the Sea Kingdom, where Orca would be now, queen. He wondered if she had even thought of him, or of River.

A couple of the MudWing guards brought Torrent through the walls, and into the city. Unlike the absolute quiet of the Deep Palace, the town outside Queen Moorhen's palace was bustling with the sounds of MudWings. It was so loud it almost gave Torrent a headache. He much preferred the silence of Aquatic to the striking voices of the land dragons.

Torrent quickly moved down the main road of the city, getting strange looks from the MudWings as he passed. He wasn't the only SeaWing in the city, but being paraded by the other MudWings attracted unwanted attention. He kept his eyes down and his wings tucked, trying to ignore the stares and the growing silence. Finally, they reached the entrance to the palace. One of the MudWings rushed inside to fetch Queen Moorhen, while Torrent and the others entered a large room, preventing the crowds from staring at him any longer.

A number of long tapestries hang around the walls of the room, each depicting a MudWing queen, their names woven, in addition to the queens' sibs, standing side by side with her. At the far left end, the tapestries were almost completely faded, and Torrent could barely make out the outlines of the ancient MudWing queens. At the other end stood Queen Moorhen's tapestry, with her siblings' beneath her. Torrent got a strange sense of déjà vu from the hall, as if he had seen something like it before in the Sea Kingdom.

Torrent scanned the room, and found the tapestry which most interested him: Queen Fen. Until now, she was the last animus queen of Pyrrhia. Her siblings rested beneath her. Torrent wondered which one of her brothers was the tragic Prince Calamity, the one who had killed both Fen and himself to end her reign. None of the brothers particularly stood out, but Fen had a determined grimace plastered across her face. She was young, very young, barely older than Orca was. Torrent wondered when she had challenged her own mother; was it seven, when she was technically first allowed to? Or had she gotten away with it even earlier?

Queen Moorhen suddenly entered the room, breaking Torrent's focus on the tapestry. One of the MudWing guards was with her, along with one of her brothers; Torrent didn't know his name. She looked surprised when she saw him. "Torrent?" she asked. "What a surprise, I wasn't expecting you here."

Torrent nodded. "I'm sorry for not sending any notice in advance."  
Queen Moorhen smiled kindly. "No matter. Any relative of Coral is welcome here, anytime."

Torrent tried to hide his discomfort. Coral was probably dead by now, and considering what happened with Albatross, he might be the only member of the royal family still alive. He wondered if he was still welcome. Fortunately, news traveled slowly out of the Deep Palace, and Torrent didn't know how long it would be before Moorhen heard of the royal challenge. Unfortunately, that meant he would be unable to hear the news for quite some time, too. What would Orca do after she won? Would she look for him? If Orca wanted to, could she even use her magic to force him to return?

"Now," Queen Moorhen asked, "what brings you my palace today?"

"I would like to board here for a time," Torrent replied, "and if possible, have use of your libraries."

Queen Moorhen's brother whispered something to her, but she held up her claws and motioned him silent. "I am able to offer you food and a place to cover your scales," she replied, "although it may not be as comfortable to what you are used to. You will have to ask Mallard about the libraries, she can be very picky about who she allows to see her scrolls. I believe you have already made her acquaintance, have you not?"

Torrent bowed his head. "Yes. Thank you, your majesty" he calmly replied.

Moorhen's brother frowned, and glared at Torrent. He stood up, revealing a jagged scar beneath his neck. He stretched out his scales, as if trying to intimidate Torrent. "Just how long do you plan to stay with us, _prince_?" he growled. "And _why_?"

Torrent kept his calm, though he retreated back a small stop. "Two fortnights at maximum," he replied. "I just wanted to continue my studies with Mallard." It wasn't completely false, and four weeks should be enough for news to arrive from the Sea Kingdom, and would give Torrent time to read more scrolls and plan what to do next, although he doubted he had even that long before Orca came looking for him.

Moorhen gave her brother a glare. "I apologize for my brother's rudeness," she told Torrent. "Granite occasionally steps out of his place." The MudWing brother, who Torrent guessed was Prince Granite, looked away in shame and anger.

The MudWing queen gave the guards leave, and motioned Torrent to follow her up the staircase. "I will bring you to your quarters."

As Torrent followed her, he walked directly passed Prince Granite. The MudWing was large, as large as Moorhen and Gill. Torrent ducked his head, and attempted not to meet eyes with the prince. Granite stepped in front of Torrent as he was walking, hissing, "If you dare try to harm my si—"

"Enough!" Moorhen roared back at her brother, the elderly queen showing a hint of emotion. "Torrent is our _guest_ , and Queen Coral's son. Treat him as you would treat any other royalty, or even better, if you can."

Granite stayed silent, and let Torrent pass, his eyes still on the small SeaWing. Torrent and Moorhen continued up the palace stairs, until the MudWing prince was out of sight.

Moorhen sighed as the two walked to Torrent's quarters. "Again, I'm sorry about Granite. He's not usually like this, it's just that with the war and all, we're all so on edge."

Torrent nodded silently, and followed Moorhen up to his quarters. The palace was a lot smaller than the Deep Palace, and whereas the Deep Palace had been continuously added onto over the years, Moorhen's palace seemed fully planned from the start. There were no winding corridors like the one that led to Orca's room, so he doubted it would be easy to get lost. All of the passages looked like they led back to the entry room, in one way or another.

Within a few turns, Moorhen and Torrent reached a door on the wall. She took out a key from a small pouch and unlocked it. "This is one of our guest room," she said, smiling at Torrent.

Torrent looked inside. It was much larger than his room back at the Deep Palace, and far more decorated. There were around eight beds inside, each with a beautiful quilt on them, decorated with scenes from what appeared to be past MudWing military victories, many of them SeaWings. He averted his eyes from a square with a SeaWing similar-looking to his mother being pulled apart from the limbs by seven MudWing sibs.

"Is it to your liking?" Moorhen asked, oblivious to Torrent's disgust.

Torrent nodded respectfully with a slight grimace. "What's with all the beds?"

"Ah," Moorhen replied, rolling her eyes slightly at Torrent's naïvety, "most MudWing rooms are this way, it's so that an entire clutch of sibs can stay in the same room. Don't worry, you won't be staying with anyone."  
Torrent placed his scroll-case at the foot of one of the beds and turned back to Moorhen. "When can I see Mallard?"

Moorhen glanced out the window. That was different, there were no windows in the Summer Palace nor the Deep Palace. They seemed a bit insecure from attack. It was now dark outside, and the sun had set since Torrent had arrived at the palace, though Torrent could see just fine after his nightvision adjusted from the dim candlelight inside the room.

"In the morning," Moorhen replied, "Mallard may be asleep. I will fetch you for breakfast at dawn, and after that I can take you to her."

"Thank you," Torrent replied, bowing his head to Moorhen and lowering his forearms. Queen Moorhen smiled, and gave him a friendly clawwave before leaving the guest room. Torrent looked out the window again.

He wasn't sure what direction it was pointing, but he pretended it was towards the Deep Palace. Far away, beneath miles of water, Orca would be crowned as queen, sitting on Coral's throne.


	20. Chapter 19

Torrent woke up to a sharp rap on the door outside. The SeaWing placed his claws over his ears, trying to drown out the noise. He heard another rap. "Torrent, are you awake?" Queen Moorhen called.

"Yes, your majesty," Torrent groaned as he rolled out of the bed. He swished his tail back and forth, stretching out his wings. Torrent crawled over to the door and opened it. The giant MudWing queen stood before him, patiently waiting.

"C'mon," she said, leaving Torrent no time to wake up further. He followed her across the palace to where he supposed the dining room was. The walk was short, but still exhausting for the not yet awake dragonet.

When they reached the dining room, Queen Moorhen led Torrent in. The room consisted of a long table with a series of place on it, with a beautiful chandelier above it, crystals shimmering in the candlelight. Around ten MudWings stood by the table, eating, two of them situated around the head, Granite and another one of Moorhen's brothers. Moorhen motioned Torrent to follow her, and while she ate at the head of the table, he stood nearby.

Across from him stood Prince Granite, who gave Torrent a glare as he tore into a roasted pig. Torrent looked away uncomfortably and turned to his own meal. The dragons continued in silence until one of the other princes spoke up.

"Prince Torrent, is it?" the second prince asked. He had scales just a slightly lighter shade of brown than Queen Moorhen's, and two large hoops hanging from each horn. He tapped a long, shining talon on his plate. "You've come quite a way, haven't you? The Deep Palace is quite a ways away, isn't it."

Torrent nodded silently.

"Good, good," the MudWing prince continued, "how is life in the Sea Kingdom? It sounds tranquil."

Torrent again nodded. He glanced back at his dish uncomfortably.

"Speak up!" the prince demanded. "It seems nice living in a palace under the sea. No SkyWing armies to ever bother you, huh?"

"Be polite to your guest, Mole," Moorhen muttered, her mouth full of pig.

Prince Mole snorted indignantly. "You must eat a lot of fish, Torrent, don't you?" he pressed. "Enjoying the pork?"

Torrent nodded vigorously. In truth, he was enjoying it. "Fish is nice, but it gets boring," he replied quietly.

Mole smiled. "Not all SeaWings would agree. When I was last on the field, with your uncle, I gave him salted pork once. Spat it right out, he did, and cursed me. He complained that it was stuck in his teeth for the next week." Mole chuckled slightly.

Torrent politely smiled in response to Mole's anecdote, and the MudWings returned to eating. The rest of the meal went smooth, although Granite continued to give Torrent nasty glares. After it was done, a few MudWing servants took the dishes and leftovers away, while Moorhen motioned for Torrent to follow her. The SeaWing prince did so, and they left the dining room.

Moorhen smiled as the two walked through the palace. "Was the meal to your liking?" she asked.

"Very much so," he replied, following closely behind her while attempting to avoid the stares of the MudWings they passed. Many of the dragons didn't seem to have been around many SeaWings before, and looked curiously at the guest.

"Good, good," Moorhen said. "I was worried that you were just saying that to please Mole, he can be quite . . . forward. I will give your compliments to our chef."

The two continued through the palace a fair ways until they reached a small staircase, leading down in a circle to what Torrent suspected was Mallard's quarters. The bottom of the staircase opened up to a pair of doors, which Moorhen subsequently unlocked and opened with a creak. A spider crawled up Torrent's claws, but he quickly shook it off. This place had apparently not been cleaned in quite some time. He wondered why, one would think that the MudWing queen would keep her palace in shining shape.

The two doors opened to a long room stretching down the palace, with a dusty scrollshelf running along either side, packed to the brim with scrolls. A number of lecterns were strung around the room, with scrolls hanging haphazardly from them. Large inserts into the walls broke up the scrollshelves, with small, circular holes carved into the stone floor and ceiling. It looked like steel bars had once fit between them — this 'library' had once been a prison. At the far back of the room was a rug with scrolls thrown around the edges. A small burnt-orange MudWing sat on top, whom Torrent recognized as Mallard.

"Mallard!" Moorhen called. "You have a guest!"

Mallard appeared not to notice at first, but after a number of seconds passed, she looked up from her scrolls. "What is it?" she growled, frustrated at the interruption.

Torrent waved a claw and smiled awkwardly, hoping she would remember him. She did. "Torrent?" Mallard asked. "Is that you?" Torrent nodded.

"It's been a while!" Mallard exclaimed. Glad she wasn't angry to see him, Torrent started to open his mouth to respond, but Mallard cut him off.

"Thank you again for those scrolls you gave us," she said, "they'll be a massive contribution to the war effort! Now, what's brought you here?"

 _The war effort?_ Torrent wondered what she had meant by that, but he didn't ask any questions. The MudWings were on the SeaWings' side, anything that was good for one kingdom would be good for the other. "Well, I was staying here for a while, and I wanted to ask you about borrowing some more scrolls."

Mallard thought for a moment. "Did you bring any in return?" she asked. Torrent gritted his teeth, and winced a little. He hadn't brought any, his trip to the Mud Kingdom was somewhat unplanned. He thought for a moment, wondering of there was anything he could give instead.

Fortunately, he was in luck. Seeing the expression on Torrent's face, Mallard quickly said, "No worries; the other scrolls were plenty help. Feel free to look at any in the library." She gestured around the room.

Moorhen smiled, satisfied that Torrent was in good paws. "I'm going to take my leave now," the MudWing queen said, lumbering off. "I'll see you two later!"

Mallard's eyes carefully followed her queen, and only after Queen Moorhen had firmly shut the door to the makeshift library behind her, Mallard spoke up again. "Your sister isn't with you this time," she noticed. "Where is she? I thought she was interested in animus magic too."

Torrent hesitated, unsure what to say. Chances were, Orca was now sitting on the SeaWing throne. "She stayed back in the Sea Kingdom," Torrent cautiously replied.

Mallard looked skeptically at Torrent, and tapped the tip of her tail on the rug, as if wondering what exactly to say. "Your sister, Orca. She's an animus, right? Or is it you?"

Torrent froze up. Mallard knew Orca was an animus? How had she known?

As if to answer Torrent's concerns, Mallard explained, "It's kind of obvious. It's not every day we have two royal SeaWings looking for scrolls on animus magic and dropping the name 'Sunscorcher.' So, which one of you is the animus?"

Torrent just stood there, shaking. He didn't know what to say. Had Mallard told Queen Moorhen about this yet? If Mallard knew Orca was an animus, and decided to expose her. . . it wouldn't matter. If Orca had used her magic during her royal challenge, there was a good chance half the Sea Kingdom would know already.

Mallard sighed, starting to get irritated at Torrent's silence. "Look, your secret is safe with me. I'm not going to tell anyone: I'm just a friend who wants to help."

 _Friend?_ Torrent thought. He hadn't really thought of Mallard as a friend, just a random MudWing he'd met. "It's Orca," he blurted out, "I left after she killed our sister and challenged Mother for the throne."

Mallard frowned. "Sister?" she asked. "I thought Orca was the only hei — "

"She used her magic to make everyone else forget about River," Torrent replied with a wince. Talking about this with Mallard was a little cathartic; it was nice having someone other than Orca and Griffin to reveal their secrets to.

Mallard was silent for a moment, thinking about what Torrent had said. Torrent wondered how much she knew about animus magic, had she even known that was possible?

"I'm sorry," Mallard replied sincerely. "It must be hard, losing so much of your family in such a short time-span." She said her condolences slowly, crafting the words carefully so not to offend Torrent.

Torrent shuddered. The scariest part to him was that he couldn't care. Rift was dead, River was dead, and now his mother was probably dead, but all he could do was just worry about himself. Was he just as bad as Orca?

"If you would like, I can tell you the news from the Sea Kingdom as soon as it arrives," Mallard offered.

Torrent nodded. He wanted to know what Orca had done as soon as possible. His life, or someone else's, could depend on it.

"So, what exactly are you looking for in these scrolls?" Mallard asked, walking over to the shelves and pulling a few down.

"Anything on animuses losing their souls," Torrent replied, "particularly on how to stop that from happening." He thought for a moment and frowned. "Or reverse it, if it's possible." By this point, Torrent expected that Orca was too far gone, and he was sure that this search would end up futile. He wondered what Orca would do to him if he returned to the Sea Kingdom: he was certain she knew by now that he had fled.

Mallard bobbed her head in understanding. She scanned the shelf she was looking at, and pulled a few more scrolls out, then handed the collection to Torrent. "I doubt these will be to useful," she grimly warned, "but there might be something interesting here. There has never been that much research on animus magic in the Mud Kingdom, since it's so rare, and test subjects are hard to come by. Apparently there's been a lot of IceWing research into it, but going to the Ice Kingdom to read their most recent scrolls isn't exactly an option, so you'll have to make do with what I've got."

Torrent knew what Mallard had meant by that: he had read about the Great Ice Cliff and how it was designed to kill any non-IceWings who approached. He doubted the IceWings would want a SeaWing prince into their kingdom anyways; the SeaWings were currently at war with the IceWings.

Torrent took the scrolls from Mallard. "Thank you," he gratefully said.

"It's no difficulty," Mallard assured Torrent. "If you need more, just ask anytime." She thought for a moment, and an idea popped into her head. "Depending on how long you're going to be here, I've been semi-secretly communicating by letter with an IceWing scholar named Boreal through the SandWings for the post couple of years. It would be a while, but I could ask him to send some scrolls over."

Torrent shook his head. "Sorry," he declined, "I don't know how long I'm planning to stay."

"Alright," Mallard acknowledged, "but come to me if you change your mind. It wouldn't be a big deal."

Torrent tucked the scrolls Mallard had given him beneath a wing, and waved his claws goodbye. After leaving the musty library, he headed back back to his room, only getting lost once along the way, As soon as he entered, the SeaWing set the scrolls down. He glanced over their titles to see which one he should read first. "IceWing Perspectives on the Dangers of Animus Magic and their Potential Effects." That looked somewhat hopeful. Torrent rolled opened the scroll, and started his reading.


	21. Chapter 20

A few days had passed since Torrent received his scrolls from Mallard. He had been slowly working through them, and had gone back down to the library a few times to collect new ones, but so far Torrent had no luck in finding what he was searching for: anything that would help save Orca's soul. Yet, the SeaWing had come across a few interesting scrolls: for example, a description by Prince Ripple, son of Prince Fathom, of how Darkstalker used his magic to create a talisman containing his animus powers. Based on how the end of the Darkstalker legends worked out, Torrent somewhat doubted it had worked well.

Another different scroll gave an example of another animus, an ancient RainWing queen who had done the opposite of Darkstalker: she had created a phylactery to contain her soul and protect it from any adverse effects. Unfortunately, separating her soul from her body ended up killing her, so that was clearly not a viable option. Surprisingly, this was a scroll written by a RainWing; Torrent hadn't ever seen a RainWing scroll before, strangely enough. He hadn't even known they had writing.

The IceWing scroll probably would have ended up being the most useful, if Orca had never used her power to begin with. It described how the second queen of the IceWings, Queen Frost, had brought animus magic into the royal family through a marriage to an animus, and knowing the fowl effects of magic, she had set up the system in which animus dragons would only use their magic once throughout their entire life. Although there were numerous cases in IceWing history of their animus dragons using their magic twice, or even three times, they rarely caused much trouble, and Frost's system gave the IceWings prosperity for the next three thousand years. Torrent tried to remember how many times Orca had used her magic; it was much more than once, for certain.

As Torrent rolled up the scrolls and placed them into a neat pile, the SeaWing noticed a flash of metal out of the corner of his eye. There was something on his counter that hadn't been there before. He went over to check it out, and groaned. The dagger Orca had enchanted for him to kill her was there. Torrent had forgotten that Orca had enchanted it to return to him if he was separated, and it looked like it had finally arrived from the Sea Kingdom. He picked it up, and twirled it in his claws.

He remembered all the glares Prince Granite had been giving him in the dining rooms and hallways. Although he didn't particularly want the dagger, it wasn't like Torrent could just get rid of it, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a little extra protection on him, just in case Granite decided to do more than just words and glares. He decided it would be a good idea to go get a sheath for the dagger. There should be some extra ones down in the palace's armory, and he doubted Queen Moorhen would mind if he borrowed one. Torrent grabbed up the dagger, and left the room. It would be good to get out of his room anyways, he had been cooped up in there for many of the past few days reading musty scrolls. Remembering where the armory was, Torrent traversed the palace halls down to its location.

There were no guards around the armory, and Torrent entered freely. He scanned around the room. There were all sorts of weapons here: a fair amount of spears, swords, and sets of armor along the walls, along with some more exotic things. There were some three-pronged tridents in a corner, and another one of the corners had wooden barrels stacked in it. Carefully taking off the lid of the barrel, Torrent curiously looked inside them. He saw a coarse black powder, and thought about dragging a claw in it, before choosing better. It might be some kind of poison.

Putting the lid back in place, the SeaWing prince turned away to look at the sheathes. Placing his dagger into a few of them, he found a plain leather one which fit it. Torrent then looked for a strap to place it on. He grabbed one which went beneath his wing and wrapped around a foreleg, it was slightly large, but it seemed comfortable enough. He placed the dagger on and grinned; he liked the idea of being able to protect himself from any dragon which came his way. The prince placed a claw on his jeweled dagger and drew it in and out of the sheath, letting it glint in the candlelight.

Satisfied, Torrent quietly left the armory and headed back to his room, but it only took a few steps before he ran into a MudWing. Queen Moorhen stood in front of him, frowning slightly as she saw where Torrent had come from. "Your majesty," Torrent said, shaking.

Moorhen looked back to Torrent and noticed the strap and dagger. "Are you planning on leaving the palace so soon?" she asked, wondering what Torrent was doing.

"No, your majesty," Torrent replied, his heart crawling up his neck. "The dagger was a gift from my sister, and I wanted to find a matching sheath."  
Moorhen glanced down to the dagger. The gemstones inlaid in it made it look more ceremonial and royal than just a plain weapon. "May I see?" she asked.

Torrent quickly nodded. He placed his claws on the hilt, and slowly started to pull it out. He noticed in surprise that the amethyst was warm. What did that do again? He thought Orca had once told him it detected enchanted items. As he brought the dagger towards Moorhen, it got warmer, meaning she must have an animus-touched item on her. He noticed the small silver bracelet around her foreleg, it looked like the culprit.

Moorhen noticed Torrent looking at her bracelet, and furrowed the scales above her eyes. "What is it?"

"Your bracelet," Torrent responded, wanting to draw the conversation away from the dagger. If Moorhen touched the amethyst, she would instantly know it was magical, and Orca's secret would be out. "Is it enchanted?"

Moorhen twitched her ears. She didn't seem to like Torrent realizing that. She was silent for a moment, and Torrent tensely wondered what she was going to do. Finally, she smiled, and relaxed slightly. "You have good perception; those scrolls you've been reading must be quite helpful. It is, it's been passed down by the queens since Queen Fen made it."

Torrent breathed a sigh a relief and tucked his dagger back into its sheath. "What does it do?" he asked.

"It's enchanted to vibrate when a dragon with bad intentions is nearby. It was designed to warn Queen Fen of potential spies and enemies." She chuckled slightly. "Not that it did its creator much good. You know what happened to her, don't you?"

Torrent nodded. Killed by her own brother after she had lost so much of her soul. "Does it vibrate around me?" Torrent asked, already suspecting the answer.

"Three moons, no," Moorhen sweetly answered. "I wouldn't have brought Mallard all the way out to the Summer Palace if it had. Nor your mother: for all her faults, Queen Coral seems like a well-intentioned dragon." Moorhen frowned. "Now on the other claw, it's hard to keep my claws from shaking when I'm around Princess Blister."

Torrent was confused. "Wait, why did you join her, then, if she has such poor intentions?"

Moorhen sighed. "By the time we joined the war, the IceWings, SeaWings, and SkyWings had already taken their sides. Knowing that the RainWings and NightWings wouldn't join the war, we were the only tribe left, and all three princesses were vying for us, knowing that having two kingdoms on their side would be a huge advantage. At first, we attempted to remain peaceful, but Burn and Scarlet threatened to attack us if we refused to join them. Granite convinced me that if we had to choose between the two, Blister would be a much better alternative than Blaze for a variety of reasons, so I ignored the bracelet's warnings.

"With two kingdoms behind her claim, Blister should have been able to quickly end the war. Unfortunately, because a number of our generals were captured or assassinated within the first few months of the campaign, and an temporary truce between Burn and Blaze, the war doesn't look like it will be ending anytime soon."

Moorhen looked at Torrent and smiled. "Well, I'm sure that's enough of my politics and complaining for you. You're busy with Mallard's scrolls, aren't you? I'll let you get back to that."

And with a swish of her tail, Moorhen had left Torrent back to his reading. The SeaWing prince climbed back up the stairs to the guest room, and settled down to work.


	22. Chapter 21

Another few days had passed, but to the SeaWing prince, it felt like weeks. Each day, he had gone down to Mallard's chamber and asked for news from the Sea Kingdom, but he had received none, and Torrent's anxiety only increased.

Torrent had continued reading and gathering information from the scrolls, but was unable to find a cure for soul loss. Just enchanting one's soul to return didn't seem to do the trick, and if were that easy, no animus would ever go towards the dark. _Maybe the problem was something other than losing one's soul?_ Torrent asked himself. In that case, an enchantment curing one's soul wouldn't work, since that wasn't the problem to begin with. He supposed an enchantment forcing an animus to only do good could work, but there might be workarounds for that. What if two dragons disagreed on what was good? Anyways, it seemed a bit wrong to him to control a dragon like that, though he supposed it might be tolerable if the only alternative was to let an evil animus have free reign over their powers.

Deciding that it would be worthwhile to write down notes about the animus legends he had read, along with what he thought some curing possibilities could be, Torrent opened the scroll case he had brought from the Sea Kingdom and spilt its contents on the ground. He rolled open the scroll of notes that he and Orca had been taking, and started scratching new script into it. He grimaced slightly as he saw Orca's messy scrawl above his own clawwriting.

Something caught Torrent's attention out of the corner of his eye. Along with the scroll of notes, there were a few other pieces of parchment in the scroll case, including the map that Orca had enchanted in order to find Sunscorcher. Torrent rolled it open to reveal the enchanted parchment. There was a small number of ink blotches strewn around the map, each representing an animus dragon. The first thing Torrent noticed was a brick-red blotch not far from Moorhen's palace, in the huge swamps to the north. That meant there was an animus dragon not too far from him.

Torrent's eyes then turned back to the Sea Kingdom. He looked around the unmarked area where the Deep Palace was, scanning for a blotch indicating Orca. Nothing. There was no blotch. Maybe she was in the Summer Palace? No, the nearest animus to the Summer Palace was a small orange dot in the eastern Sky Kingdom. Maybe that was Orca?

Torrent's claws started shaking a bit, and he started to think through the possibilities. First, Orca could be one of the dots outside the Sea Kingdom, but that seemed unlikely. He supposed she could have gone to participate in a battle, but it seemed too soon after her ascent to the throne for that. Anyways, Torrent remembered Orca's dot as being a dark green, the same color as her scales. Second, Orca could have given up her animus powers somehow. Torrent didn't know if it was possible, but it was his favorite option by far. It would explain why Orca wasn't on the map, and if she gave up her powers, it meant she was just an ordinary dragon without powers. Queen, maybe, and possibly a malicious soulless one, but not an animus.

The final option was what made Torrent's claws shake in worry. What if Orca had lost her challenge with Mother? She couldn't have, that wasn't possible. Orca was an animus, and was willing to use her power the last time Torrent had seen her. She wouldn't just let Coral kill her, would she? _At least if she's dead, she can't hurt anyone with her powers,_ a small voice whispered into Torrent's head.

Torrent immediately felt guilty for even thinking the thought. No, even if it meant that Orca would harm others, Torrent would never want her dead, would he? She was still his sister, his best friend, no matter how many dragons she hurt. He shoved the thought to the back of his mind, along with his ridiculous theory that Orca was dead. He would go down to Mallard again to ask for news. Something surely would have arrived by now.

Torrent crawled the halls of Queen Moorhen's palace to Mallard's room. The SeaWing prince pushed the doors open to see Mallard at the far end of the room, reading some scrolls as usual. He returned the scrolls he had read, placing them down in front of her, causing her to look up. "Done already?" Mallard asked. Torrent nodded in return, it wasn't as if he had much else to do while he was in the MudWings' palace.

Mallard took the scrolls from him and carefully placed them on the shelves. "What's wrong?" she asked Torrent.

"Oh, nothing," Torrent replied, trying to push his theories of Orca to the back of his mind again. It was no use speculating.

Mallard frowned, and continued to press the question. "Your tail is dragging and your ears are drooping. There's clearly something wrong, what is it?"

Torrent sighed. "It's Orca again. I'm worried about how she's doing, and what happened in her challenge." He didn't particularly want to tell Mallard about the map and what it showed him.

Mallard thought for a moment. "She's an animus," she replied. "She's got practically unlimited powers, doesn't she? I doubt something as mundane as a royal challenge could harm her."

Torrent nodded, but even so, the map still worried him. There were no animuses in the Sea Kingdom. He supposed that Orca could have done something to the map which hid herself, or found another enchantment that did the same thing. That was it. She knew Torrent had the map, and didn't want him tracking her!

"Thank you," Torrent said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're welcome," Mallard replied with a smile, pulling out a few more scrolls from the shelves. "Anyways, we should be getting a messenger any day now, so you won't have to worry for much longer. I'll make sure you'll be the first to know."

Torrent thought about the map again. There was an animus in the Mud Kingdom on it, wasn't there? He hadn't read about any MudWing animuses since Queen Fen. "Mallard," Torrent asked, "what do MudWings do with their animuses?"

A slight grimace appeared on Mallard's face. "Well," she answered, "we do similar to the SkyWings. If we know they're an animus, we kill them as soon as they hatch — "

"Oh," Torrent interrupted, thinking Mallard was done.

" — along with all their siblings," Mallard finished uncomfortably.

Torrent scrunched up his snout in disgust. Their siblings too? He could see their reason for killing the animus dragonet itself, but it's siblings were completely innocent.

"It's to keep the siblings from passing on animus magic to their children," Mallard explained, seeing Torrent's facial expression. "MudWings don't do mates like you SeaWings, so otherwise we wouldn't know where the animus magic is coming from, and we might get more slip-ups. We've done it since Queen Fen was killed, and we don't have any animus dragons, so it's worked."

 _No, it hasn't,_ Torrent thought, remembering the blotch on the map. He couldn't be certain, but since it was deep within the Mud Kingdom, the animus was almost certainly a MudWing. "Alright, thank you," he said.

"It's nothing," Mallard grinned, handing the scrolls she had gather over to Torrent. "Any luck on finding a cure for Orca?" she asked.

Torrent pondered for a moment. "Maybe," he answered, "I don't know if it would work, but she could enchant herself to not be an animus, though it wouldn't solve the problem with her soul."

Mallard paused, tapping her tail on the ground. "Well, good luck. If you need anything else, just ask."

The young SeaWing smiled and thanked Mallard for her help, then traversed the palace corridors back up to his room. He set the scrolls down, and opened up the map again. The spot in the MudWing swamps was still there, and there were still no animuses in the Sea Kingdom. He furrowed the scale-ridges above his eyes in a frown, but there wasn't much he could do about it now. Maybe tomorrow, news would finally come.


	23. Chapter 22

Torrent awoke to a sharp rap on the door. "Just a minute," he grumbled. It felt far too early for Moorhen to come in. He just wanted to sleep more.

The SeaWing prince peeled open his eyes and took a peek out the window. He frowned. It really _was_ far too early for Moorhen to come in. It was long before dawn. Why would Moorhen want him now?

Torrent shook himself out of bed and opened the door. He was surprised to see the snout meeting him outside the doorway. "Mallard?" he asked. "What are yo—"

Mallard put a claw to his mouth, silencing him. She took a quick glance around the hallway before entering Torrent's room, then shutting the door behind him with her tail. "We need to get out of here, _now_ ," she hissed.

Torrent frowned. "What is it?" he asked quietly. "Did something happen to Moorhen?"

Mallard shook her head. "Queen Coral sent out an order for you to be brought back to the Sea Kingdom as soon as possible, and King Gill offered a reward for anyone bringing you back. At the peak of dawn, our messenger will tell Moorhen, and you'll be taken to the Summer Palace, whether you like it or not."

"Wait, hold up," Torrent said, his heart beginning to race. "Did you say Queen _Coral_?" he asked.

Mallard winced, and looked at Torrent, her eyes offering an apology. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Orca lost her challenge against Coral. I'll spare you the gruesome details."

"What?" Torrent exclaimed, almost yelling, before remembering that he didn't want to wake the entire Mud Kingdom. "No! Tell me!"

Mallard sighed. "She accidentally impaled herself on a narwhal horn attached to Coral's tail during the challenge."

 _No,_ Torrent thought, _no, that can't be right. Orca can't be dead. This has to be some sort of trick with her animus magic. Maybe she switched bodies with Coral somehow, and is now ruling the Sea Kingdom in her name?_ Still, his gut and the map told him that Orca couldn't still be alive. He felt stiff, and his breath became shallow.

"We have to go," Mallard hissed. "I can get you out of the palace without us being seen, but we have to be out of the city before dawn." She pulled on one of Torrent's wings, urging him on.

Torrent looked at Mallard, and suddenly worried about her. She was risking her neck to get him out of the palace. "Why are you helping me?" he asked. "Queen Moorhen could have you imprisoned for something like this, or worse! You could just take the bounty and buy some more scrolls or something."

Mallard thought for a moment, as if she wasn't quite sure herself why she was helping Torrent. "You're my friend," she answered. "And friends help each other out, right?" He saw a hint of melancholy within Mallard's eyes, and wondered where that had come from. "C'mon," Mallard ordered, smiling again, "let's get you out of here before I change my mind. You know how tempting a good scroll can be."

Mallard opened the door to Torrent's room, and took a peek around the corners. "All clear," she whispered.

Torrent nodded, and quickly grabbed his stuff. He didn't have much to take, just his scrollcase, his satchel, which still had a bit of salted fish, and his dagger. He put them on his strap, and moved after Mallard.

The walk down to Mallard's quarters was long and slow. The MudWing librarian was cautious, and made sure to check around every corner before the two continued on. The most worrying part of the trip was when they went through the center of the palace: the hall of tapestries that Torrent had seen when he first entered the palace.

The hall was large and open, and Torrent was almost certain a MudWing guard would burst into there any second. He could see the tapestries placed around the hall in all their brilliance, although due to his nightvision being used, they were all in black and white. Yet, by using his nightvision, it finally struck him where he had seen something similar before: the Mausoleum of the Queens in the Deep Palace. He had visited the place a few times, but its eerie stillness always discomforted him. Supposedly it held the bodies of every SeaWing queen since the Scorching, along with many of the princesses, kings and other royal family members, although many of those were placed in the undersea catacombs even further beneath the ocean floor. Orca would be placed there, and Torrent may even end up there eventually. He remembered Orca telling him how many of the queens were buried with enchanted items, and Torrent's claws went to the amethyst on his dagger. It was cold.  
Torrent tried to put Orca out of his mind again, focusing on the task at hand. He needed to get out of the MudWing city if he didn't want to be taken back to the Sea Kingdom, which he didn't. Orca was dead. There was nothing left there for him anymore.

Mallard and Torrent passed through the room of tapestries without any incident. After a few more turns, they reached Mallard's room, positioned below the rest of the palace. She opened the doors and brought Torrent in. At least to him, it looked like a dead end. How did Mallard expect him to get out from here? Unless . . . it was some sort of trap?

"Now," Mallard explained to the unnerved Torrent, "this room was an unused dungeon before I turned it into the great library it is today." Torrent gulped a little, even though he had figured the possibility. "But, one of the prisoners in here, long ago, decided to make this little beauty."

Mallard grabbed one of the scrollshelves and pulled it away from the wall with ease. A small room was positioned behind the shelf, with a few scrolls scattered around that Mallard had apparently wanted hidden. A dark tunnel at the end of the room led beyond it. "Apparently he got free, and was never found again." Mallard smiled. "So I can only assume that it leads out of the city."

Torrent gulped, his heart pulsing. Either it lead out of the city, or the MudWing's bones could still be down there. "Are you telling me you've never been in it?"

Mallard foolishly grinned. "I've been down it a little ways, but never the entire thing. No nightvision for MudWings, unfortunately, so you'll have to lead. You might be a big dragonet, but you should still fit."

Torrent took a deep breath and tucked his wings in. He stepped into the cramped tunnel. He hated the feeling of the earth closing in on him; SeaWings were supposed to live in the large, open sea, not in some underground tunnel made by an escaped convict. "Is this safe?" he asked.

"Probably," Mallard replied, not making Torrent any less anxious. "Well, hurry up, we haven't got all night, you know."

Torrent tried to steady his heartbeat. If a MudWing prisoner could do this, then so could a SeaWing prince. "We?" he asked.

Mallard snorted. "Of course! You think I'm just going to let you have all the fun? I'm not wasting this chance, how often do you think I get dragons with nightvision down here?"

 _Fun,_ Torrent thought. _This is just fun. That's all this is, fun._

* * *

Fortunately for the two, Mallard was correct: the tunnel wasn't collapsed somehow, and led all the way out of the city. As the dawn light finally hit his eyes. Torrent breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing better than _not_ being in an awful tunnel like that. _Except for Orca being alive,_ a small voice told Torrent in the back of his mind. _Don't think about her, don't think about her,_ Torrent told himself, pushing the thoughts away.

Torrent stepped into the muddy water of the swamp, his claws uncomfortably sinking down into the mud below with a squelch. He glanced behind him. Sure enough, the walled city which surrounded Queen Moorhen's palace was there. He thought he could see the guest room where he had stayed at. Torrent quickly ducked beneath the swamp's trees, hoping to prevent any MudWings overhead from freeing him. Mallard followed a little behind him, the MudWing comfortably splashing through the swamp. A wave of dirty water hit the SeaWing in the side. Torrent tried to brush it off, but the mud sticking to his claws only made things worse.

"Well," Mallard said, looking back at the city, "I guess this is where we part."

Torrent looked at her, concerned. He wasn't really sure he wanted her to go already; he could use someone to travel with, to wherever he was going next. He was also a bit worried about what Moorhen would do if she discovered the librarian had helped him escape. "Are you sure you don't want to join me?" Torrent asked. "It could be dangerous back at the palace; Queen Moorhen won't like that you snuck me out of the palace."

Mallard smiled. "Thanks for the offer, but I've got other things to do. Scrolls to tend to and all. And don't worry about me, if Queen Moorhen asked where I was, I can make something up on the fly. I'll be fine."

Torrent wasn't sure that Mallard's confidence was fully warranted, but he didn't press her further. "Alright," he said, "thank you for everything."

The librarian grinned. "It's nothing. Just come and visit me if you ever come by the palace again, promise?"

Torrent nodded. He was a bit sad that he had to part with Mallard here; he hadn't really gotten to know her as much as he would've liked, but hopefully he would see her again. He waved his claws goodbye, and started to walk off. Mallard went in the other direction, back towards the palace.

Before Mallard took off to fly back to the palace, she looked back at Torrent. "Oh!" she warned Torrent. "Try and avoid the swamps to the north, there've been a bunch of missing dragons around there lately! Stay safe!"

"You too!" Torrent called back before Mallard took off. He pulled out his map of animus dragons. Sure enough, there was a small blotch to the north of the palace. He clutched his dagger. Apparently it made it so that animus magic couldn't harm him. If there was an animus north of the palace causing these disappearances, it might be worthwhile for Torrent to check the area out. It wasn't as if he had anywhere else to go.


	24. Chapter 23

The smells and sounds of a bustling marketplace wafted through the air, engulfing Crystal. She kept her head down, trying to make herself look as small as possible. This was no place for an IceWing; it was nothing like the placid serenity of the frozen tundra, with only the vaguest scents of a polar bear cub that had passed a week ago. A SandWing bumped into Crystal, pushing the dragonet out of his way with a hiss. Crystal shuddered as his deadly barb trailed past her, only inches from her nose.

"Have a barb wound you need healed? Brightsting Cactus at low prices!" a SkyWing vendor called out, seemingly directing his shouting towards her. Crystal placed a claw on the side of her snout, just to make certain she hadn't been scratched accidentally. She didn't have any spare change, and a scratch would be fatal if left untreated.

Crystal took a peek at the area around her. The town was primarily filled with SandWings, but a number of SkyWings were scattered around. She'd seen and talked to SandWings before, when she'd gone to the southern border with Boreal for the mining operation, but she'd only seen SkyWings in the aftermath of battles. They were allied with Burn, and the IceWings were in an alliance with Blaze. A few of the large-winged dragons gave her quick glares or frowned, but fortunately, most of them just seemed to ignore her.

Crystal quickly made her way through the town, carefully avoiding being caught by the deadly tail barbs. _A blue-shingled roof_ ,she wondered. _Where could that be?_ So far, Crystal had no luck in finding the house, and she didn't know how much longer she had until night fell. She didn't particularly want to find out what kind of dragons were around after dark.

"You lost?" a voice suddenly asked from behind Crystal. She jumped up in surprise to see a young SandWing with golden-brown scales behind her. He had a small stick resting in his claws, with a thoroughly charred lizard impaled on it. A few of its legs appeared to have been torn off, presumably by the SandWing.

"I'm fine," Crystal warily replied. She glanced around quickly, and clutched her small satchel. Was this dragonet trying to rob her?

The SandWing looked at her curiously, examining the satchel she had moved a claw to. "I don't mean harm," he replied, snorting in laughter. "Just don't see many IceWings here. Too hot maybe. Where you going?"

"Nowhere," Crystal muttered. She didn't want to take any chances here, even if this dragonet seemed harmless enough. She was exposed enough as is, and didn't know if news from Glacier's Palace had reached here yet. She doubted it, but Glacier would have a large bounty on her head by now.

The dragonet fluttered his wings, keeping them folded in so not to brush up against the rest of the bustling crowd. "Suit yourself," he said, tearing off another leg of his lizard-ka-bob, "but you IceWings can't see in the dark, can you? Dontcha all use magical snowballs or something?"

Crystal was confused for a second, then realized what he was talking about. "Moon globes," she corrected. "I don't have any, if that's what you want."

The SandWing made a slight grimace on his face. "Aww, I've always wanted to see one. What about that thing around your neck? Is that magical too?"

Crystal suddenly covered the Darkstone on her neck with a claw. She had forgotten to take it off before she had entered the town. "No!" she quickly exclaimed, even knowing it wasn't completely true.

"Who'd ya' steal it from?" the SandWing asked, poking his nose a little closer.

"No one," Crystal hissed, "it's mine."

The dragonet snorted again. "You wouldn't be trying to hide it from me if it was yours. You'd be wearing it out and proud, walking around like no one could touch you. Don't worry, I've stolen stuff too. Gila and his snake-scaled thugs have far more than they'd ever need." He waved around the lizard on a stick, practically charcoal. "Don't wear that around after dark though."

Crystal nodded a little nervously. She really needed to find Avalanche, and quickly.

"So," the dragonet continued, "you need help finding your way?"

Crystal sighed, conceding. "Fine. What do you get out of helping me?"

The SandWing thought for a moment. "You tell me about the Ice Kingdom. It sounds nice, with palaces everywhere and enough food for everyone."

Crystal rolled her eyes. The Ice Kingdom had its own troubles, and it certainly wasn't as idyllic as the SandWing thought it was. "Alright, I don't really a choice, I suppose. I'm looking for a house with a blue-shingled roof. Ever seen it?"

The SandWing nodded. "Yeah, there's a SkyWing who lives there. She likes yelling at dragonets as we walk past. You want to see her? Most dragons try to stay away."

Crystal grimaced. Avalanche didn't sound like a dragon Crystal particularly wanted to meet, but it wasn't as if she had other options. Clarity said Avalanche was a friend, and her sister's word was good enough for her.

Crystal nodded. "Yes," she replied, "take me there.

* * *

The sun was starting to dip just below the horizon by the time Crystal and her new SandWing friend had reached Avalanche's house. It had turned out that Crystal had been in the wrong town altogether, but it was an easy mistake to make, since the two towns were close enough these days most of the dragons didn't distinguish between the two. Crystal had been searching in the western town, and she'd needed to cross the Great Five-Tail River to the SkyWing side, where the blue-shingled house would presumably be.

On first glance, Avalanche's house very much stood out. It didn't really seem like someplace for a rebel group to have a hidden base. The colorful roof not included, the architecture was clearly different from any of the houses around. While the SkyWing-built houses tended to use a grey stone and sharp triangular roofs, and the SandWings used open arches and flat roofs, Avalanche lived in what was practically a giant barn, with a blunt roof. It stood out in the city (cities?) like a toucan who'd accidentally wandered into Queen Glacier's palace, which had never happened, and of course never would, since toucans couldn't survive that far north.

Crystal walked forward towards the door. She turned around, realizing the SandWing hadn't walked up to the doorsteps with her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Can't go with you. SkyWing said she'd knock my teeth out if I came here again."

"Oh," Crystal responded, frowning. She was somewhat hoping she wouldn't have to face Avalanche herself. "Alright, see you soon."  
The SandWing shook his head a little grimly. "Sorry, gotta go now. My little sis is waiting. But nice meeting ya! Good luck with your angry SkyWing!" He waved a claw, still holding the stick, now charred lizard-less, and promptly walked off.

"Goodbye!" Crystal called after him. She sighed. She had almost wanted him to go with her. He had seemed pretty nice, but she guessed he had other things to attend to, this sister for example. It wasn't like she could just expect him to fly off with her into the Sky Kingdom. Yet, this way was safer anyways. Going alone, she wouldn't have to risk being betrayed, or someone else wanting the Darkstone for themselves.

Crystal knocked on the door to the blue-shingled house. She just realized that she hadn't ever asked the SandWing his name. If she ever came here again, she wouldn't know how to find him.

The door opened, and a flaming red SkyWing looked out at Crystal. "I SAID I'D KNOCK OUT ALL YOUR TEETH IF YOU DRAGONETS CAME BACK AGAIN!" she yelled. Crystal smelt Avalanche's sulfurous breath and almost gagged. She backed up a step.

"Er, I'm Crystal," she calmly explained. "Clarity's sister? She said you were a friend."

Avalanche let out a low growl. "Clarity?" she sneered. "She's still alive? I haven't gotten any word from her in almost a year, I'd figured Glacier had offed her by now."

Were all of Clarity's friends like this? Crystal snorted. "She's still very much alive."

Avalanche gave Crystal a long stare, scanning her up and down. "And you say you're her sister? How do I know that's true? Glacier could've tortured her for my location and sent you here to kill me."

Crystal laughed. "If I'm the best Glacier's got to kill you, then this war would've been over long ago."

"You humble yourself," Avalanche smirked, surprising Crystal with her sudden change of mood. "If you're anything like your sister, you could choke Burn with her own tail. Now get your wings in here before you attract more attention than you already have. I'm keeping a low profile."

That was a minor exaggeration, but Crystal took the compliment; Avalanche didn't seem like she would give out many more. In all honesty, Clarity had always been the far better fighter. Crystal had only made it to the Second Circle through her apprenticeship with her father, Boreal, and even then wasn't very far from the top of the Third. At least until Crystal had killed him, Boreal was Queen Glacier's favorite member of her council. Still, Crystal deeply regretted his death. He was a kind dragon, and not an _awful_ father (which was saying a lot in the Ice Kingdom), but he hadn't cared what Glacier's ultimate plans for the Darkstone were. If there had been any other way, Crystal would've gone with that route, but she knew that if Boreal had lived, the mining operation would just continue, and all of this would be for nothing.

Crystal stepped into the blue-shingled house. It was just as tacky on the inside as it was on the outside. Series of objects and trash cluttered around it haphazardly, and charcoal was scattered around the fireplace. After checking to make sure no one was watching, Avalanche shut the door behind Crystal.

"So, how did you meet my sister?" Crystal asked the SkyWing. Clarity had been out of the Ice Kingdom a few times, to Crystal's knowledge, but she didn't know much else.

"Fracture, of course," Avalanche arrogantly replied. "You know him?"

Crystal nodded. She'd seen him a number of times before she had left the Ice Kingdom.

Avalanche snorted. "He's a nutcase, with his 'visions' and all, but he sure has connections. Got all five of us together somehow. Me, Clarity, Nautilus, and Trustbreaker. Not quite sure how he really found us all, but it was quite an accomplishment. He still wooing Clarity?"

Crystal shook her head. "No, they're mates now."

The SkyWing laughed. "Really? Did they have one of your cute IceWing rituals?"

Crystal had to think for a moment before realizing what Avalanche meant. "Marriage? Do you not have those?"

Avalanche sneered. "'Course not, it's stupid and frivolous."

Crystal frowned a little. If anything was stupid, it was the SkyWings' weird breeding program thing. Did they just not like romance or something like that? Weird.

"So, why did Clarity finally send word? Did she just finally feel like alerting me that she wasn't quite dead yet?" Avalanche continued.

The young IceWing shook her head. "I need help getting far away from the Ice Kingdom, and as soon as possible. Clarity said you'd help me through the Sky Kingdom."

The crimson SkyWing rolled her eyes. "Did she, now? That's nice of her, just giving me her little sister to take care of after completely cutting off contact for an entire year. You have a map?"

Crystal handed her map over. This SkyWing was starting to get tiring; she could see why Clarity didn't talk to her often. Avalanche tore it from the IceWing's claws and opened it. She grabbed a small piece of charcoal lying near her fireplace, and started drawing on the map with it. In a few seconds, she was done.

Avalanche gave Crystal her map back. "There," she hissed. "Just follow that line, and you'll be good. Now go."

Crystal looked at the map and frowned. There was a long black line on it, leading in curves across the Sky Kingdom to the eastern edge. "I didn't come all this way to get a line drawn on a map," she growled.

The large SkyWing gritted her teeth. "You're an ungrateful dragonet, you know that? That's the best you'll get: a path through the Sky Kingdom that avoids every dragon in the eastern half of Pyrrhia. I'm not going with you, if that's what you're asking. I have better things to do here."

"Fine," Crystal hissed back. "I'll go by myself. Where does it lead?"

"A friend of mine and your sister lives there, along with a bunch of other dragons he's gathered. He's a blindingly green SeaWing; you can't miss him."  
 _You're one to complain about blinding scale colors,_ Crystal thought. She glanced out the window. It was dusk, and she didn't particularly want to go out into the town at night after the SandWing's warning. She sighed. "If you're not going with me, can I at least stay here for the night?"

Avalanche grinned, as she was pleased seeing the IceWing dragonet at her mercy. "Fine, but no longer than dawn. After that, come back and I'll knock your teeth out."

Crystal agreed to Avalanche's terms. She didn't want to come back here anyways, ever again.


	25. Chapter 24

Torrent trudged through the MudWing swamps, one step at a time. If the map was correct, it wouldn't take very long to reach the animus by flight, but Torrent wanted to make sure he wasn't seen by any of the MudWings in the city. He would walk a little further before taking off.

The young SeaWing despised the swampy ground. While he was no stranger to water, the squishing mud seemed to get between his webbed claws, and it wouldn't shake off easily. He kept stubbing his claws or tripping on the tree roots beneath him and it was wearing him out easily. Hopefully, he wouldn't have much further to go.

It took another hour or two of pushing through the dense swamp before Torrent finally felt like he was far enough away from the city to take flight. He spread his vivid blue wings, clearly contrasting with the greens and browns of the swamp, and took flight within a small clearing. There might've been a river here for him to swim in, but this would be faster, and Torrent didn't want to get even more mud and grime on him than he already had.

He glanced back towards where the city would be, thinking about Mallard. Hopefully she would be alright. He was still worried about whether Queen Moorhen would find out of her helping Torrent out of the passage. What Mallard did struck him as a little strange; she had risked her life for a dragon she had barely known and was willing to betray her queen. Did all dragons show such little loyalty to the royal families? It certainly didn't seem so, at least in the Sea Kingdom. All the dragons obeyed the royal family's direct orders, even to an obnoxious degree. They clearly feared Queen Coral, and what she would do. Was Queen Moorhen just not like that? Did her subjects not fear her? Or was it something different, maybe MudWings just didn't have that kind of obedience to their queen. At least from what Torrent had read, MudWing loyalty was usually directed towards their siblings; that could be the difference. Yet, Torrent hadn't seen any of Mallard's siblings around, what had happened to them? Did they die somehow?

The thought of dead siblings turned Torrent to his own three, Orca in particular. He recalled something he had learnt from his schooling with Whirlpool about SkyWings and their funerals, at least before Queen Scarlet had banned the practice. After a dragon had died, the local community would create a pyre at the top of a mountain peak, and place the body there. The SkyWing's closest friends would then light the body aflame, and leave the pyre until it completely burnt. Apparently it was said that the burning of the body would let the SkyWing's spirit free, and the spirit would follow the smoke from the pyre to wherever spirits go.

It was clearly different from what they did with their animus dragonets: after binding their mouths shut, they enclosed the dragonets, still living, within stone boxes and dropped them into the sea to drown. Supposedly animus dragons were evil spirits or something that had come back to seek revenge the living, and killing them that way would prevent their spirits from returning again. The tyrannical Scarlet hadn't banned that practice, apparently even she didn't want any animuses around.

As Torrent continued flying, he suddenly heard something. Were those . . . wingbeats? They didn't seem loud enough for a dragon.

"Wait!" a familiar voice called out.

Torrent turned around, surprised at who he saw, flying not too far behind him. "Griffin?" he asked, slightly frowning. "What are you doing here?"

The small gryphon flapped his feathery wings, quickly catching up to the SeaWing and slowing down for him. "Looking for you, of course," he snorted indignantly, slightly out of breath

Torrent smiled a little. Maybe he wasn't going to have to do this all alone. If he wasn't busy flying, he would've hugged Griffin.

"Well?" Griffin asked, frowning. "This is your second chance. Are you going to apologize?" He was clearly still a bit ticked off about how they had last parted.

Torrent nodded, and tears almost started to form in the wells of his eyes. "I'm really, really sorry about being so rude and telling you to go away and all that. I took you for granted, but you're my best friend, and I'm really sorry."

Griffin frown turned into a smile. "Good!" he said. "You should be! That was uncalled for, and I'm glad you're sorry."

Torrent didn't particularly like Griffin's righteousness and rudeness in his response, but he would tolerate it for his friend. He had been rude.

"Now that I've found you," Griffin continued, "let's get home and say hello our new queen!" He started to fly to the east, back towards the Sea Kingdom.

 _He doesn't know?_ Torrent wondered. "Griffin, Orca lost her challenge," he bluntly stumbled. "She's dead."

"Oh," Griffin said. His smile suddenly faded. "Like, forever dead?"

"Yes," Torrent hissed exasperatedly. "The _only_ kind of dead."

Griffin looked around uncomfortably. "I'm . . . sorry, I guess."

"You guess?" Torrent asked. He didn't really like the sound of that.

Griffin twitched his feathers uncomfortably. "You did say it would be pretty bad if she was queen, right? Do you still believe that?"

 _Do I?_ Torrent wondered. "I mean, it would've been really bad if she was queen, but I still didn't want her dead!"

"You didn't?" Griffin asked, confused. "But wouldn't it have been better for her to be dead and not queen than alive and queen?"

Torrent grimaced. Did Griffin just not get it? "No, I don't want her dead at all!" he yelled. "She should be alive and here with us!"

Griffin just stared at Torrent with a puzzled expression across his beak.

Torrent sighed. "Look, I didn't mean to sound angry. I'm not. I just wish she hadn't had animus powers in the first place, and we could all be happy." He suddenly recalled how Griffin had originally come into being. "No, no I didn't mean that. Not in that way. Ugh, I'm only making things worse, aren't I."

A hurt expression appeared on the young gryphon for a second, but it quickly turned into a grin and an eye-roll. "Yeah, I can tell. Is your awkwardness a new thing, or had I just not noticed it before?"

"Probably the latter," Torrent quietly replied, with a hint of a smile across his snout.

"Alright. Now, since I don't particularly want to be locked in Orca's underwater dungeon corridor for the rest of my life, and you don't seem to be heading in that direction, what's your plan?"

"Well, Mallard told me about some dragons mysteriously disappearing to the north, and Orca's old magical map thing said there was an animus there, so I decided I might as well go investigate."

Griffin eyed Torrent suspiciously. "More magical drama already? And who's this Mallard?"

"She's the librarian Orca and I met her at the Summer Palace."

"Oh, _that_ Mallard," Griffin replied, "the one that Orca complained about how boring she was."

"Yeah, that one," Torrent replied uncomfortably. "By the way, how did you find me?" Griffin seemed a bit different. He had this weird air of self-confidence radiating off his feathers.

"Oh, some cool IceWing I met said he'd seen you here," Griffin replied. "Get it? Cool? Cause he was an IceWing?"

Torrent nodded. _What would an IceWing be doing all the way down here?_ he wondered. "Yeah, haha," he replied.

"Finally, a laugh. A sarcastic one, but at least you're showing a little bit of humor."

A glimpse of a smile crossed Torrent's snout before he hid it again. It felt so wrong to be smiling, should he be sad? That's what dragons did when their sisters died, be sad and sulk all the time until things got better? _I should be sadder than this, shouldn't I?_ "Wasn't he surprised at seeing you're, you know — "

"A gryphon?" Griffin asked. "Nah, he was pretty _chill_ about it." He chuckled at his own pun again. "Seriously, he was just like 'Yo, you're gryphon, right?' I was like, 'Yeah, I am,' and he was like 'That's cool, I haven't seen many gryphons before,' and we totally bonded. It was nice."

Torrent nodded. He somewhat doubted the exchange was exactly like that, but he supposed it was possible. Or at least not impossible, though strange.

"So, we're going to find this animus now, right?" Griffin asked. "Full ahead!"

Griffin sped up, boosting ahead of Torrent faster than any dragon could fly. He turned around and called back to Torrent, "Come on! You're swimming slower than a sea cucumber!"

Torrent smiled. He was glad to see Griffin again, and happy as ever. The two flew further again, far into the great expanse of the MudWing swamps.


	26. Chapter 25

The two continued flying over the MudWings swamps for some time, until they finally reached their destination, north of the MudWing Palace.

"There!" Torrent said, pointing a claw at the ground below. There was a large clearing in the woods, where a series of abodes stood, centered around a strange stone tower, intricately carved. A couple of MudWings could be seen walking around from above; Torrent hoped that they wouldn't notice him or Griffin flying.

The village looked like the right place. Although the map didn't show Torrent's location, he thought that this should be around where the blotch representing the animus was. The large tower also looked highly suspect; a mysterious tower seemed like someplace a magical animus would live.

Griffin glanced at Torrent skeptically, but followed him as the SeaWing dove towards the ground. "So, what's your plan on dealing with this dragon? Are you just going to barge in there and give them a heads up, like, 'just letting you know but I know you've got magical powers and I've got a magical dagger thingy, so don't do anything bad?'"

Torrent thought for a moment. "Mallard said that apparently there have been dragons going missing around here, so I don't know if the animus will be that friendly. You don't have any anti-magical things unless you're touching my dagger, so you should be cautious."

Griffin snorted. "Yeah, no way am I going near that death weapon; I can guess what happens to me if I'm disenchanted. Guess I'll just have to fend for myself."

A grin crossed over Torrent's snout. Torrent had grown a lot since Griffin's creation, and at this point, Griffin reached barely above Torrent's underbelly. If he was in a fight with a full-grown dragon, he would undoubtedly be outmatched.

"What?" Griffin squawked, noticing Torrent's grin. "You think I can't fight off anything that comes my way?" He puffed out the feathers on his neck and raise his head up. "I'll just peck out their eyes or something!"

"Sure didn't seem like that when River caught you," Torrent replied, without thinking. Torrent instantly regretted what he'd said. What if that was a sore spot for Griffin? Torrent really didn't want to even think about what Orca had done to their sister. The SeaWing shivered as he remembered River's severed head slowly sinking to the ground beneath them. She might have been an annoying brat, but she didn't deserve that.

Griffin didn't seem to have taken Torrent's comment personally, but then again, Torrent really had no idea what was going inside in his friend's feathery head. Did gryphons think or show their emotions different than dragons? Did Griffin even count as a gryphon, being created by magic? Did Griffin even experience feelings? Torrent sure thought he did, he had shown most of the usual ones, but maybe it was just the magic working through him, making the stone statue at his core react and respond to what happened in the outside world. Torrent tried not to think about that too much; he didn't have any good answers, and didn't want to think of his friend as being some soulless automaton.

"So, where do you think this animus is?" Griffin asked, as the two started to get closer to the ground below. "I don't see anyone or anything down there."

Torrent frowned. "What do you mean? There's a whole village down there, I can see MudWings all running around and such!"

"You sure you just haven't been looking at the swamp for too long?" Griffin asked. "Because I'm pretty sure trees and murky water is all that's down there."

Torrent thought for a moment, and glanced again at the village. No, he was sure that there was something down there. He touched the amethyst on his dagger and pointed the steel towards the village. He moved the weapon back and forth a bit, so that his map and Griffin's enchantment wouldn't interfere. "There's definitely an animus down there," he said. "I can feel it." Torrent came to a sudden realization. "An animus! That's it, there must be some magic down there which hides the village from outsiders, and I can see it because the enchantments don't affect me!"

Torrent flew closer to Griffin and held out the dagger for the gryphon to take. "Here, you can use t—"

"GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!" Griffin sqwaked, rushing away as soon as he saw what Torrent was doing. "DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME OR SOMETHING?"

Torrent pulled the dagger away in shame. "I think there's some clause on the enchantment which keeps it from blocking magic I'm fine with," he muttered. "It's probably safe."

"I don't want to take any chances," Griffin hissed, glaring at the dagger, then Torrent.

The two reached the edge of the swamp clearing, and landed. Torrent shook squeamishly as his claws sunk within the soft, damp soil. Griffin frowned, still a little irritated over what had happened earlier with the dagger. Hopefully he would forgive Torrent soon.

They walked a little further into the clearing, and Griffin looked up in surprise. "Oh, you're right," he observed, slightly surprised, "I can see the village now."

He turned around and attempted to walk back out of the clearing, evidently wanting to see if he would be unable to see the village again. Suddenly, his beak rammed up against something invisible, and he squawked in surprise. Griffin tried to dig his claws into the mud and move out of the clearing again, but to no avail. His talons only dug through the soft soil, pushing it away.

"It's an invisible wall," Torrent said, frowning. "But it keeps things from exiting the area, not entering. Weird. I can get rid of it, if you want." As if to test, Torrent waved a claw through the area where the wall would be, passing right through it.

Griffin thought for a moment, then shook his feathered head. "Nah, we'll have plenty of time to get rid of it later. Who knows what purpose it has, maybe it's keeping something in." He glanced towards the stone tower in the middle of the village with a gulp. From down below, it looked more like some sort of extravagant temple. "I think we know what happened to those missing MudWings though; I'll bet they came in here and couldn't get out again."

Torrent nodded. That sounded about right. Suddenly, Torrent noticed something in the village. Two MudWings were quickly running towards them. "Hide," Torrent whispered to Griffin.

"Where?" Griffin asked, snorting. "All the trees are illusory, remember?" Griffin looked out at the two MudWings. "Hello!" he called in a friendly manner. "We come in peace!"

The two MudWings stopped when they reached Torrent and Griffin, looking like they were in some hurry. One of them looked to be around the same age as Torrent, but a little smaller. She had dull grey-brown scales covering most of her body, and a cream underbelly. Her body was similar to the average MudWing, stockier than the other tribes and with a squarish head. A determined grimace rested on her face, and she looked very impatient.

The second loomed over her, and even Torrent. His scales and wings were a dark brown the color of ebony; he didn't look that old, but pure strength radiated from his very being. A grim glare rested on his snout, as if he was permanently displeased with everyone and everything around him. He looked down at Torrent, then at Griffin, as if he was a father disappointed in his dragonets.

"Come with us," the smaller one hissed, "now." She glanced behind them, as if checking to make sure no one was following her and her friend. No one else had appeared to notice the strange SeaWing and gryphon.

Torrent shifted into a defensive position, evidently not liking being ordered around by this strange and possibly hostile MudWing. "What do you mean?" he snapped.

The smaller MudWing seethed. "You and your . . . thing are in danger. We want to help you. If you don't come with us, you could be killed, or worse."

"If you're talking about the animus," Torrent replied, "I've got ways of dea — "

"Yep, right away!" Griffin interrupted. He exchanged a glance with Torrent and pointed a talon at himself. Torrent suddenly recalled that Griffin, unlike him, would not be immune to any animus magic. Torrent might not be in danger, but Griffin could be.

"Great," the smaller MudWing muttered. "This way, quickly and quietly." She motioned the two with a claw, and walked towards the village. Griffin quickly followed, then Torrent after him. The larger MudWing trudged after both followed.

The village's mudhuts and houses were blocking the sight of the MudWings inside, fortunately, so none of them saw the four skirting along the edge of the village. They trudged through the swampy mud until they reached a small house. The younger MudWing ushered the three inside, glancing around of the entryway to make sure no one was spying on them. The house was somewhat barren on the inside; it looked almost unused. The larger MudWing walked to the center of the room, and dug his claws into the wooden floor. He pulled up a hunk of the floorboard, which cleanly came off, revealing a short staircase beneath. Torrent heard other dragons murmuring.

The younger MudWing went down the staircase, with the other three following, and the older MudWing moving the floorboards back. It got dark, and Torrent's eyes slowly adjusted to the light, his nightvision activating. A small lantern stood in the middle of the secret cellar, surrounded by five densely packed MudWings.

One of the MudWings appeared to be severely injured, and was wrapped in cloth bandages. She appeared to be asleep. Another was a young dragonet, looking at Torrent and Griffin nervously. The other three stared blankly at the two.

"Glen, what is this?" one of the MudWings hissed. "Why did you bring this dragon and this . . . bird into here? Do you know what would happen to us if Adobe saw you enter?"

"He didn't, I made sure no one was looking," the younger MudWing, evidently Glen, snapped back.

"What if he used his magic to spy on you? What then?"

"If he's using his magic to spy on us now, we're as good as dead anyways. But I doubt it, we're clearly not a threat as long as we stay silent."

Glen turned to the other MudWings in the group and raised her head proudly. "This SeaWing and this, um, bird thingy, entered the sphere today, and _left_ again. They can get in and out."

There were a couple murmurs of surprise from the other MudWings. "Are you sure you saw that?" the same MudWing who had spoken up earlier asked. "The sphere is invisible, you know, you could've judged wrong."

Glen shook her head. "No, the bird thing was trying to get out of the sphere, but it couldn't, then the SeaWing waved his claws through sphere, unaffected."

" _Oh_ ," the MudWing replied sarcastically, "so only the SeaWing can get out of the sphere. Now, how does this help us exactly? Adobe's enchantment only works on MudWings?"

Glen let out a small growl in frustration. "If he can exit the sphere, it means that we can send a message. We can ask Queen Moorhen for help, or Grizzly can tell his sibs where he is, or anything at all."

The MudWing snorted. "And what can Queen Moorhen's armies do against Adobe? They'll all just get trapped in here with us."

Torrent, by now, was fed up with these MudWings bickering about him like he wasn't even listening. "Alright!" he exclaimed, irritated. "Tell me what's going on here!"

The MudWing arguing with Glen looked at her indignantly. "You didn't even tell him what was happening?"

"I didn't have time!" Glen protested. "We had to make sure Adobe didn't see us!"

The other MudWing scoffed. "And he just followed you in here? Do you really think a naïve SeaWing will be any help?" She turned to Torrent. "If Glen is too busy, _I'll_ tell you what's going on. It all started years ago, when Queen Moorhen declared her alliance with Princess Blister."


	27. Chapter 26

Audible groans were heard from the other dragons around the room.

"No, Loam, you are _not_ doing this!" Glen said, almost shouting. "I am not listening to another one of your long-winded stories talking about how good-hearted and brave Adobe used to be. We've had enough of that!" Mutterings of agreement could be heard from the other dragons around the cellar.

"You lost your chance," Loam hissed, twitching her tail, her scales scratching against the ground. "If you wanted to tell him what was going on, yous should've told him earlier."

"Yeah, no," Glen replied with a small snort. "There's no way you're telling him. Petrol is a better storyteller than you are."

The dragonet in the back raised his head, grinning widely. "I am!" he spoke up. "See, back before the wa—"

"No," Glen ordered, cutting the dragonet off. "Your stories are just as long as Loam's. I'm making this quick." She turned to Torrent and Griffin, who stared expectantly at her. "Right after the war began, and Queen Moorhen started drafting for the armies, a number of MudWings decided that they didn't want to join the war."  
"So you're all draft-dodgers?" Griffin asked non-judgmentally, peering around at the other MudWings in the small cellar.

Glen shook her head. "No, out of our little group here, only Beaver and Loam were part of the original settlers. The rest of us either got trapped in the village in the years after, or were born in the village, like Petrol and I. Now, _continuing_ the story," she said snarkily, "this group of maybe a hundred dragons or so soon realized that just running away wouldn't work too well; someone would find a hundred missing dragons eventually. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, one of the MudWings in their group was _Adobe._ " Glen hissed the name out like it was grimy swampwater. "Do you know what animus dragons are?"

Torrent and Griffin nodded, they knew all too well.

"Apparently, he's an animus, so he has some weird magical powers," Glen continued. "His sibs had all died in a mysterious accident, which sounds pretty suspicious to me, and he just decided to help the group out with his magic."

One of the dragons in the back spoke up. "He had good intentions when he made the village. He just wanted to help a few MudWings avoid the horrors of war."

"Shut up, Beaver," Glen hissed angrily, her claws scratching into the floor. Beaver decided not to press further.

"Now," Glen resumed, "our 'friendly' animus decided that he'd use his magic to create a village for the dragons, and make it completely invisible to the outside."

 _This entire thing was made with animus magic?_ Torrent thought. He moved a clawpad to the amethyst on his dagger. He didn't even need to touch it to feel the warmth radiating off it. Most of the village around them was built with magic. _If Albatross lost it after creating just the Summer Palace with magic, how much of his soul has Adobe lost?_

Griffin exchanged a glance with Torrent. It was clear he also understood the implications of what Adobe had done.

Glen continued her story. "Now, for a couple of years after that, things were peaceful. Adobe used his powers only occasionally, mostly for small and frivolous things. It was only after he decided to make the temple did he finally show his true colors."

"The big stone thing in the middle of the village, is that the temple?" Torrent asked.

"Yes," Glen muttered. "That ugly thing. He used his magic to create it and the prisons beneath, and decided that the settlers here weren't grateful enough to him for creating their city. He started demanding that we worship him like some god, and would bestow 'blessings' on those who were the most devout. A few even bought into it. Most of the dragons tolerated this for a while, but _then_ Adobe decided to kill one of the dragons who refused to worship him after they got into an argument. A lot of the dragons started leaving after that, realizing that fighting in the war might be better than having a power-hungry animus in charge. I wish we had joined them when we could. After realizing that dragons were starting to leave, Adobe decided to make a new enchantment around the village: no one except for Adobe could exit it.

"Before that, when we had MudWing outsiders occasionally enter the village accidentally, we'd offer them a choice to either stay in the village, or Adobe would wipe the village from their memories and set them free, not ever knowing they had stumbled in here. After Adobe created the sphere, as we came to call it, they were no longer offered those options. They could no longer leave. Some of these dragons came with their sibs, but others, like Grizzly here, were separated with no means of telling them where he had gotten to. A few dragons asked Adobe to consider letting them leave, but he refused.

"Eventually, one of us decided we had had enough." Glen grimaced slightly. "My older brother and bigwings, Quake. He led a bunch of us into the temple, myself included of course, and in front of the entire village, told Adobe he wasn't divine and needed to release the dragons from the village. It was this whole inspiring speech and everything, talking about how if Adobe wanted to lead the city rightfully, he needed to listen to the concerns of those he was leading over.

"Adobe of course, didn't take being told in front of the entire city that he was some mere mortal very well." Glen breaths got heavy, and she bristled in anger. "He killed Quake in front of the entire city with his magic, and claimed that he'd do the same for any other dragon who questioned or disobeyed him. And here we are now."

There was a small pause as the other dragons uncomfortably held their tongues. Glen interrupted it, and glanced at Torrent and Griffin. "Now it's your turn."

"Our turn?" Torrent asked, frowning. "What do you mean?"

Glen rolled her eyes. "To tell us how you got in and out of the sphere. Three moons, you're traveling with a talking gryphon, you can't just expect to not explain that."

Torrent grimaced a little. He wanted to help these MudWings, but didn't really want to explain all that had happened. He turned to Griffin, hoping his friend could explain.  
Griffin nodded, understanding what Torrent wanted. "For starters," he explained, "we also knew an animus. That's how I came about."

"Oh?" Glen asked. "So were you turned into a gryphon or something?"

"No, no, I'm actually a gryphon, in the flesh. Well, sort of. She enchanted me to life."

Glen looked surprised that doing something like that was possible. "Go on."

"So," he continued, "she was Torrent's, my SeaWing friend's, sister. I'm Griffin by the way. Not _a_ gryphon, well, yes a gryphon, but my name is also Griffin because Torrent is somewhat uncreative. Now, Torrent's sister was really nice, but she used her magic a bit too much and he thinks she might have lost her soul. She was killed in battle."  
"Alright. I guess . . . I'm sorry to hear about her death," Glen replied, her eyes avoiding Griffin and Torrent's.

"It's not important," Torrent grumbled solemnly, keeping his head down. "You don't need to apologize."

"So, how was Torrent able to leave the sphere?" Glen asked.

"Well," Griffin replied, "he has this dagger thing that his sister gave him which lets him remove animus enchantments and make them not affect him, so I think that was it."

The dark brown MudWing who was with Glen when she found the two suddenly spoke up. "It can remove enchantments?" he asked. "Does that mean it can get rid of the sphere?"

Torrent nodded. "I think it can," he murmured, "but I haven't tried doing it before. I don't know if it actually works or not."

"It probably does," Loam spoke up from the background. "I've seen Adobe use his magic before, it usually works almost exactly as he speaks the enchantment."

 _What would happen if two enchantments conflicted with each other?_ Torrent wondered. _They can't both work, can they?_ It didn't really matter for this though, as far as Torrent knew, his dagger had already worked, and would probably continue to do so.

"We should use it then!" Grizzly said. The large MudWing's face lit up with a huge grin. "We can be free!"

Glen gave Grizzly a glare. "No, Adobe might come after us, and he might just recreate the sphere to keep the rest of the population inside. We have to settle this permanently."

Grizzly frowned a little, and his wings sunk.

Glen sighed. "Look, I know you want to see your siblings as soon as possible, but we have a dragon that's unaffected by Adobe's magic. We have to take this chance, and end him."

Loam snorted indignantly. "This isn't about taking out Adobe, is it? You just want to go rescue your brother first, right?"

"I thought he was dead?" Torrent asked, wondering what was going on. Dragons couldn't be brought back to life with animus magic, right?

Loam shook her head. "Her other sib, Schist. Adobe placed him in the dungeons beneath the temple a few weeks ago as punishment."

"If I'm going to go kill Adobe, we'll have to go to the temple anyways, right? We can just pick him up after," Torrent replied.

Grizzly still didn't seem to like the plan, but didn't speak up.

"Then it's settled," Glen said triumphantly. "We'll go to the temple, Torrent can kill Adobe, and then we'll free Schist."

Torrent wasn't too sure of whether he wanted to kill Adobe or not. Yet, it sounded like it could save a lot of dragons, and Adobe _had_ done a bunch of bad things. His mother would agree, she occasionally had to kill dragons too, as queen. Wasn't that what good dragons were supposed to do? Do the right thing, even if it meant killing a bad dragon or two?

"Alright," Grizzly replied, "but let's do this as soon as possible."  
Glen nodded. "Right before dawn. Grizzly and I are the best fighters, so we'll go with Torrent to the temple." Loam scoffed a little at this. "Loam and Beaver will go out into the village and make sure none of Adobe's followers get in our way. Gravel will stay and look after Petrol and Sediment."

"Wait, what about Griffin?" Torrent asked.

Glen glanced over at the small gryphon. "What about it? It's small and would be useless in a fight. It'd just slow us down. " Griffin let out a small hiss.

"No!" Torrent ordered angrily. " _He's_ coming with us, no exceptions, or I'm not going. If he wants to, of course." He glanced over at Griffin. Griffin shrugged his wings and nodded slightly, with a gentle attempt at a smile forming on his beak.

"Fine," Glen seethed, rolling her eyes upwards. "It can come with us. Just make sure it doesn't get in the way."

Torrent gave Glen a cold glare, but she didn't appear to care, or even notice.

"We've got a busy day tomorrow," Glen warned the others. "Get some sleep, if you can."


	28. Chapter 27

As much as Crystal despised Avalanche, the SkyWing was true to her word. Crystal was able to avoid SkyWing patrols and towns by following the map, even if the journey took her a little longer than she hoped. Eventually, she made it to the east coast, north of the border between the Sky Kingdom and the Mud Kingdom. She had traveled all the way across Pyrrhia, and felt a hint of accomplishment at this feat. It wasn't something she had ever expected to do in her life.

It didn't take her much searching up and down the coast before the young IceWing found the town Avalanche had told her about. She gulped and gripped the Darkstone around her neck tensely as she saw wisps of smoke rising in the air. She saw their source below: the charred remains of houses and dragons.

It looked like it had been a couple days since the town had been set aflame, and only a few open fires remained, dying out and clustering around the few remaining fuel sources. Crystal hoped that the dragons who had done this weren't still around, which seemed pretty likely, considering the lack of movement below. She landed at the ground, and observed her surroundings.

The rancid smell of charred dragon remains filled her nose, making her feel almost nauseous. It wasn't long before she spotted a casualty: a young SandWing with her scales half-melted off. Crystal looked away and grimaced. This looked like the work of SkyWings, not MudWings. They used their fire freely and destructively like no other tribe. The SkyWing army had gotten to the town before Crystal: fortunate for her, but deadly for the dragons living here.

She passed the remains of a house, with three dragons inside: a SandWing, an IceWing, and a dragonet that looked like it belonged to the two. She turned away, not wanting to see the carnage. She had been fortunate Boreal had taken Crystal on as his apprentice: it meant that she didn't have to see much of the war, and little of its horrible effects. The only battle she had witnessed was while she was in the northern parts of the Sand Kingdom on a mining operation with Boreal: the infamous Battle of Devil's Eye and the betrayal of Princess Blackice. She didn't care to witness that massacre again. She remembered once falling prey to the clamor of excitement and the fervor of war. Of IceWings saying their farewells to their mates and dragonets, proud to be fighting for their queen. After that battle, after she saw IceWings turning on their own SandWing allies in a reckless slaughter, Crystal saw the war for what it truly was.

Crystal moved on through the town, looking for survivors, but the only thing she found was more scorched bodies. Yet, a few of those bodies were clearly those of SkyWing soldiers, laid splayed out on the ground in battle armor. It give her some sick perversion of hope: at least the dragons here didn't die without fighting back, they took out a few of their attackers first.

She continued on to the center of the town, but still didn't find any survivors. The SkyWing army was thorough, that enough could be said of them. Suddenly, she noticed a dragon on the ground, a young SeaWing with bright green scales and black spirals across his scales. Crystal walked over to him to get a closer look: he looked like the dragon Avalanche had told her to meet with. Well, it seemed a bit too late for that. The odor of scorched and rotting flesh emanating from the SeaWing was enough to tell her that he was long gone.

Suddenly, Crystal noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. She whipped around, worried that one of the SkyWing soldiers could've returned. She peered around, and saw a small cat jumping into the bushes, a brown tabby with vivid blue eyes. Crystal relaxed her muscles, it was no threat. She had seen cats once or twice while on a mining operation with her father, and thought they were cute, but she obviously couldn't bring them back up north: they'd freeze to death within days. Apparently some of the other tribes kept them as pets. She wondered if this one was the pet of one of the deceased dragons living here. Was it scared? Sad? Or did it even care? She had no idea what cats thought.

Crystal took one last look at the dead body of the SeaWing and opened her wings, planning to take flight and get out of this wretched place, when she suddenly heard a voice from behind her.

"Excuse me," it spoke, as if apologizing for interrupting her.

Crystal jumped around in alarm, claws outstretched and ready to use her frostbreath. A NightWing scurried back in alarm, a young male slightly older than Clarity. "I mean you no harm!" he quickly yelled.

Crystal hissed, but backed down. _What's a NightWing doing here?_ she wondered. She doubted he was in cahoots with the SkyWings. As far as she knew, the NightWings had no alliances with any of the tribes. Had that changed?

The NightWing was around average size for his age, with silvery-black scales covering his body. In the fading sunlight, they all seemed to glow with a slight orange tint, except for a muddled grey one behind each of his eyes. He tried to give Crystal a faint smile, but it was clear it was a facade for sadness. She didn't blame him if he was a survivor of the SkyWing attack.

"Did you live here?" she asked cautiously, attempting to show a little sympathy.

The NightWing shook his head. The cat which Crystal saw earlier walked out of the bushes, and started rubbing itself against the NightWing's scales, purring as it did so. "I didn't live here," he replied, "but I had a friend who did." He glanced over at the dead SeaWing on the ground, as if indicating to Crystal who said friend was. "You're Crystal, right?"

Crystal nodded, frowning. "How did you know my name?" she asked.

"Fracture told me you'd be here," he replied.

 _Clarity's mate?_ Crystal wondered. _Did Avalanche tell Fracture I was coming here?_ "And you are?" she asked.

"Trustbreaker," he replied grimly.

Crystal snorted, almost a laugh. "Trustbreaker? You must've had awful parents for a name like that." She thought she recalled Avalanche mentioning a dragon named that.

Trustbreaker shook his head. "It was of my choosing. A penance, if you will."

"Al-right!" Crystal said with a surprised expression on her face. This NightWing was starting to creep her out a little. "And . . . you're here to see me because . . .?"

Trustbreaker shook his head again. "No, I came here to pay my respects to my dead friend."

Crystal thought about it a moment. How had he known the town had been burnt down already? It could've only been a day or two, based on the fires still burning. Maybe Fracture stopped by Avalanche's place, flew directly to the town after it had been attacked, and immediately went to find this NightWing? She supposed it was possible, Fracture was a pretty quick flier the last time she had seen him in the Ice Kingdom.

"Well, I'll leave you too it," Crystal replied uncomfortably.

Trustbreaker nodded. "Before you go, Fracture told me to ask you to give something called the Darkstone to me. Do you know what that is?"

Crystal hissed, and wrapped a claw around the Darkstone. "If you want it, you're going to have to take it," she growled. "I'm not giving it to some random _NightWing_ I just met, even if he claims to be friends of my brother-in-law." She sized up the NightWing quickly. He didn't look like much of a fighter. She could take him on if he attacked. Could Queen Battlewinner somehow have found out about the Darkstone and wanted it for herself? Did she want to destroy the IceWings with it? Crystal wouldn't let her.

Trustbreaker nodded again, with a sad look in his eyes. "He said you'd probably say that, but he just wanted to make sure. He told me to warn you that keeping it would only cause pain and suffering."

"No," Crystal hissed.

The NightWing sighed solemnly. "Okay," he replied. "That's all."

Crystal frowned. Was he just going to give her up like that? If he knew what it did, why would he just let her go? Wouldn't he want it for his kingdom, or even himself?

Trustbreaker went to the SeaWing's body, the cat following closely behind. He sat down and started murmuring something too quiet for Crystal to hear. The cat want up to the SeaWing and tore its claws into the some of the body's melted scales, tearing out bunches of scorched flesh with its teeth.

The young IceWing turned away. She wasn't really sure where else to go now. She couldn't go back to the Ice Kingdom. Maybe Avalanche would be willing to help her again. It wasn't a conversation she was particularly looking forward to, but it was her best bet. She opened her wings and soared west, back towards the SandWing-SkyWing border. She glanced back at the weird NightWing and his cat as she flapped into the air, gaining height, just checking to make sure she wasn't followed. She wasn't.


	29. Chapter 28

Torrent was awoken by a yell that split his ears.

"GET UP! IF YOU SLEEP ANY LONGER, YOU'LL ALL TURN INTO RAINWINGS!" Glen shouted with a shriek.

Griffin moaned as he turned his feathered head to stare at Torrent with a look of exasperation.

"We're up," Loam grumbled, slowly raising her head. "Quiet, or you'll alert the whole town to our location."

Adrenaline was pumping through the dragons' veins as soon as they remembered what task they were planning to set out on, and they were soon awake and ready to leave. After a last minute review of battle plans, Griffin, Torrent, Glen, Grizzly, Loam, and Beaver were out of the small house. Torrent was glad to be out, it was tight and cramped in the hidden cellar, and he was glad to have the open sky above him. It might not have been the vast expanse of the ocean, but it was something.

The sun had not yet broken free of the horizon, and the air was warm and humid, with all the wondrous smells of the swamp mixed in. The town was beneath them, and no dragons were awake yet as far as Torrent could see. The six flew a small way towards the tower before Loam and Beaver broke off, going to make sure the other four weren't interfered with by outside dragons. The other four flew up to the top of the stone temple in the center of the city. Glen had told them there was an entrance from the roof, so that Adobe could walk out and gaze over his domain.

They landed on the roof, as quietly as possible, so not to alert Adobe to their presence. As soon as Torrent's paws touched the stone, it crumbled beneath him. He yipped in surprise and lifted back off it, glad he hadn't fully closed his wings. The stone suddenly reformed itself, pieces of it rising up from the hole Torrent had made. Grizzly stared at it in surprise.

"It's his dagger," Griffin pointed out. "You said the whole temple was made using magic, right? It must be preventing the magic from working, causing the temple to turn back into the stone it was enchanted from."

Torrent nodded, and pulled out his dagger. "How come it didn't do anything when I was in your house?" he asked Glen.

"The house was made by us, not Adobe," Glen replied. "Hence the secret cellar. Torrent, get onto Grizzly's back. He'll carry you down."

Torrent complied, and landed on Grizzly, making sure his claws didn't touch the ground beneath. Grizzly grunted as the SeaWing shifted from side to side, trying not to push down on Grizzly's fragile wing membranes. After they were settled, Grizzly crawled to a small door on the roof, leading down into the temple. Glen opened it ahead of him.

Torrent squeezed in his wings and limbs, trying to make himself as small as possible, so not to brush against the walls of the stairwell. The four slowly moved down a flight of stairs, Griffin checking ahead of the group for Adobe, or any other dragons. Finally, Griffin waved his talons, indicating that something was there.

"Is that Adobe?" he whispered to Glen.

Glen growled at what she saw through the doorway. A large reddish-brown MudWing lay sprawled across a plush bed, sleeping soundly. She walked through the doorway, when suddenly a high-pitched screech sounded with everywhere around them, the voice of something not quite dragon. Glen covered her ears with the tips of her wings, and the other three did the same. Torrent almost slid of Grizzly when the MudWing did so, but managed to hold on.

After a few moments, the screech stopped. The sleeping MudWing moved himself off the bed, hissing in irritation. "Who dare disturbs me?"

Glen stepped forward, Griffin cautiously entering the room behind her, and Grizzly following while carrying Torrent.

"Glen," Glen stated, bloodlust in her speech. "You killed my brother, Quake."

The red MudWing, who Torrent assumed was Adobe, snorted in indignation. "Did I?" he asked. "Or did he kill himself? He knew the consequences for his actions, and faced them. Just like you and your other brother will."

Glen roared furiously, her blood steaming like a SkyWing with too much fire, but Adobe tsked. "You should know better, Glen," he continued, "you know why Quake died. I need everyone to obey me for this town to function, and he threatened that."

"He did not!" Glen protested, fuming.

"He did," Adobe calmly replied. "Just as you do." Adobe took a slow look around the room, as if he was appraising his own architectural handiwork.

"GLEN, HERE!" Torrent shouted, realizing what Adobe was about to do. Glen took a step back, and Torrent draped one of his wings over her.

Adobe chuckled at this futile gesture. "Walls, turn into spikes and kill all the dragons in this room other than myself."

Suddenly, the grey stone started swirling and morphing, and within seconds, sharp spikes reached out with furiosity, aiming for Torrent, Grizzly, and Glen. Torrent squeezed his eyes shut, hoping Orca's dagger worked as intended. When he opened them again, sharp spikes were spread out in a sphere centered on Torrent, almost reaching Grizzly and Glen. Had the two MudWings had been just a little further from Torrent, they could have been impaled, and the floor would be covered in a sea of blood.

Griffin stood off to the side, peeking his feathered head out of the doorway, thankful that "dragons in the room" hadn't included him. Fortunately, Adobe's enchantment was not expecting a gryphon to be in his midst.

Torrent reached out with his dagger, and placed it on a stone spike. He moved a claw to the emerald, which would remove the the enchantments on it, preventing the spikes from reforming. It worked as planned. The stone spikes crumbled into pebbles and dust, cracks starting from their tips, and moving along the spikes to their ends. Torrent proudly smiled, sporting a triumphant grin. He turned towards Adobe.

Adobe rested on his bed with a confused look. He glanced at his claws, as if wondering why his magic hadn't worked properly, then at Torrent. "What is the meaning of this?" he growled.

"Adobe of the MudWings," Torrent announced dramatically, "I have come to free these dragons from your claws and punish you for your wrongdoings."  
"What wrongdoings?" Adobe protested, looking somewhat anxious. "I've done nothing but give these dragons a home!"

"You enslaved us, trapped us, forced us to worship you, and killed us!" Glen hissed. "You've done plenty wrong."

Torrent agreed. Adobe had used his animus magic to do evil. _No dragon should have that power,_ he thought, _even if they want to use it for good._

Adobe snarled, then turned his head slightly. "What have you done?" he yelled.

Torrent turned to where Adobe was looked, and gulped. Cracks were appearing on the wall, and light pieces of crumbling rock started to fall from the ceiling above. Torrent's dagger had not only removed the enchantments on the spikes, but on the entire temple. The whole tower was coming down around them.

"We need to get out of here!" Griffin yelled in worry.

"No!" Glen shouted. "We have to take care of _him_ first." She pointed a claw at Adobe.

Adobe saw Glen, and attempted to run for the exit, trying to push past Grizzly and Torrent. Torrent leapt at the MudWing animus, dagger in claws, and landed on the MudWing, both of them falling to the ground below. Adobe howled in pain as the dagger embedded itself through a layer of Adobe's scales. Torrent's claws nudged against the pearl on his dagger, and the scales around where the dagger punctured Adobe started to turn the color of grey stone.

Adobe let out a shrill scream in terror before the stone quickly engulfed his entire body, turning it to stone and silencing him. As Torrent rode the stone MudWing's body to the ground, it eerily reminded him of one of Orca's statues, but he didn't have too much time to dwell on the thought before the two hit the floor beneath.

When the young SeaWing touched the stone below, it crumbled away beneath him, causing Adobe to fall through the hole and onto the floor below. The MudWing's stone body crashed onto the floor and shattered, pieces of stone remains flinging everywhere. When the dust settled, there was nothing left but his scattered remains: an eye there, a claw there, all turned all the way through to stone.

Torrent didn't have time to look at the scene beneath: he fell through the floor, and not encountering any resistance from the one below, through that one as well. He passed through one more floor as well before he finally had the sense to open his wings, and flew up, any piece of the temple he got too close to crumbling. It was a weird and unnerving sense, attempting to fly in such close corridors, but it didn't take him long to realize that he could just pretend the normally solid boundaries weren't there.

Torrent flew back up to his three companions, trapped within the slowly falling apart building. "Grab my claws!" he shouted at Grizzly and Glen. They did so, and followed him as he created a hole through the wall of the temple. Once they were free of the building, Torrent let go of their claws and they opened their wings, gliding down to the base of the crumbling tower.

The SeaWing flew back inside the building, where Griffin was. He held out a claw for his friends, but Griffin draw away in alarm. _Right,_ Torrent remembered, _I might disenchant him._ "Jump through a hole right after I make one!" he yelled.

Torrent flew through the wall again, the stone crumbling as he went through. Griffin trailed close behind him, and immediately after, he flew through as the stones were reforming the wall. Rock cut against him as he jumped through, causing Griffin to seethe in pain, but he made it through with little more than a few scratches.

Griffin and Torrent flew to the ground, where Glen and Grizzly were waiting. Cracks were slowly spreading down the tower above them, and hunks of stone were dangerously falling from above. "You need to get out of here!" Torrent yelled at the two.

Glen shook her head. "I need to get Schist! He's still in the prisons below!"

She ran into the building, and Torrent quickly went after her, Griffin following. Hunks of rocks were falling from above, and they were scattered what looked like what might have been an beautiful hall at one point. Glen glanced at a hole in the floor created as Torrent stepped into the building and the floor crumbled beneath him. "Down there!" she said.

The three glided down into the basement beneath the entrance hall, Torrent's eyes adjusting to the dark. A faint rumbling from the crumbling stone could be heard. There was a small tunnel at the end of the room, presumably leading to the dungeons, but it was blocked by a series of rocks that fell from above. Torrent attempted to use his dagger in hopes of getting rid of them, but they didn't move.

"They were already disenchanted," Griffin pointed out. Torrent pushed against the rocks, trying to move them away.

Glen nervously glanced up, clawing away at the rubble as fast as she could. "We need to go faster than this!"

Griffin saw a small entrance into the tunnel, too large for Glen or Torrent, but just barely large enough for a small gryphon to enter through. "I think I can get in," he suggested. "I can try and get your brother out while you two clear away the rubble."

Glen looked hopefully at Griffin, while Torrent showed an expression of worry. Griffin hesitated, wondering what to do.

"Go now," Torrent whispered, pulling away a few stones around the entrance. "Hurry."

Griffin nodded, and scrunched his wings together as close as he could. He poked his head into the gap, and crawled into Adobe's dungeons.

The dungeons were dark and empty, consisting of a wide tunnel with barred cells on one side. Griffin heard the rumbling of falling rocks above him, and shivered in apprehension. He quickly walked down the stone tunnels. If he didn't hurry, the entire place would come down on top of his head.

Dimly lit torches were held in place on the side of the damp walls. Griffin passed by a number of empty dungeon cells. It appeared that Adobe didn't keep many prisoners.

Griffin passed more cells. They were each as empty as the last, and most of them looked like they had never been used. Griffin doubted Schist had been given much company in this place. A simple jail cell for the entire village would have sufficed, but based on the crumbling temple above, Griffin guessed Adobe had a passion for the extravagant.

He peered over at one of the cells. He hadn't seen one before: there were cells in the Summer Palace, and a prison not too far from the Deep Palace, but Griffin had never visited. Torrent had described one once when Griffin had asked what Queen Coral did to dragons who stole or killed, but that was it.

Griffin finally arrived at the cell he was looking for. A young MudWing lay on the ground, his head down in a state of perpetual boredom. His scales were a greyish brown and he had a cream underbelly, just like Glen. "Schist?" Griffin asked.

The dragon's head raised up, and he looked over at Griffin. "Yes. What are you?" he asked, frowning. "Did Adobe make you to guard me or something?"

"Close!" Griffin said, surprised that Schist had guessed he was created through animus magic. "Wait, I mean, not close! Adobe didn't create me, and I didn't come here to guard you. I'm here to rescue you!"

Schist eyed Griffin, suspicious. "You are?" he asked.

Griffin nodded. "Yep! Your sister sent me."

"Glen?" Schist asked. "How? Did something happen to Adobe?"

"Adobe's gone for good," Griffin replied. "But no time to explain, the entire building is going to fall on us if we don't hurry." A loud crash sounded above them, as if proving Griffin's point. Griffin looked around the area, trying to find keys for the cells.

"They're over there," Schist explained, pointing a claw to a ring on the wall with a few keys hanging off it. "Not sure what the point of it was though. Adobe could've just used his magic to trap me."

Griffin grabbed the ring and quickly walked over to the cell holding Schist. He fumbled with the keys for a minute, trying to find the correct one for the lock. After what felt like an eternity, he unlatched it. The barred door swung open, and Schist stepped out, with a grateful look on his snout.

"C'mon," Griffin said, waving his talons at Schist. "We need to hurry." He took a quick glance at the ceiling before running back down the tunnel. Schist followed close behind.

After a rushed walk back, the two reached the end of the tunnel, the passage, now widened from Glen and Torrent's efforts. "I got him!" Griffin yelled out.

Glen poked her head through the hole Torrent and her were still digging out, and shouted in joy. "Schist!"

Schist waved a claw to her and grinned back. He walked up to the end of the tunnel, and looked through the hole. Torrent and Glen were furiously trying to move away rubble. "Torrent and I will pull you through," Glen suggested. Schist nodded.

He tucked his wings in as tight as possible, and held out his two foreclaws. Torrent and Glen each grabbed onto one, and pulled him through the small hole as hard as they could. After a lot of scrapes, he was able to get through, falling onto Torrent and Glen. Griffin crawled through after.

"We need to go," Torrent proclaimed. "The floor above us won't hold for much longer."

Glen nodded, and walked to a small stairwell in the corner. Suddenly, a hunk of rock came down, narrowly missing her. "Hurry!" she yelled to Schist.

Schist and Griffin followed her up the stairwell, avoiding the falling rubble. They ran across the entrance hall, avoiding falling rocks and holes. Torrent followed afterwards, flying upwards through the floor, causing it to dissolve and reform as he passed through. The four made it to the exit, where Grizzly, Loam, and a large amount of other MudWings were waiting safely outside of the temple's walls. They looked back and watched as the cracks slowly spread down the tower and it to crumbled to rubble.


	30. Chapter 29

The MudWings started to disperse after Torrent removed the enchantments on the sphere. Some returned to their houses in the village, knowing that while they were free of Adobe, they were no longer safe from Queen Moorhen's armies. Others left as soon as possible, returning to siblings they were separated from, or to find a new life in the war-torn world. Torrent and Griffin stood next to Glen and Schist at the edge of the town.

"Are you sure we did the right thing?" Torrent asked, frowning. "Queen Moorhen will be able to find this place now. Who knows how many of the dragons here will be forced into the war?"

"What other options where there?" Glen snorted. "It was either that or keeping everyone trapped in here. At least now they have a choice."

Torrent looked away from the village, towards the swamps surrounding the village on all sides. "Maybe," he said. "Although I'm worried their only choice is the army."

"It's possible," Glen answered, not making Torrent feel particularly better, "but Moorhen hopefully won't notice us for a while, maybe even not until the war ends. It's gone on long enough, hasn't it? It's not like it can just go on forever."

"Yeah," Torrent said. He turned back towards the village, and saw a MudWing give him a hateful glare, before turning away.

Torrent had only heard Glen and her friends' views of Adobe, not the rest of the town's. What if Adobe's rule wasn't so bad after all? Sure, he had seemed pretty crazy, forcing the town to worship him and all, but for an animus who had used so much magic, he wasn't as destructive as Torrent would've expected.

As much as he hated to think it in front of Glen and Schist, maybe his killing of their older brother was justified: it wasn't like Queen Coral hadn't executed dragons who had attempted to start rebellions before. The village was even smaller than the Sea Kingdom, and open rebellion and civil war inside it would be a massacre.

A MudWing trotted up to Torrent. The SeaWing looked up to see a grinning face lumbering over him, Grizzly. "I just wanted to goodbye before I left," Grizzly said. He looked down to Torrent. "Because of you, I finally get to see my sibs again! The spirits answered my prayers! Thank you for everything."

Torrent smiled awkwardly. "Oh, it's nothing," he replied uncomfortably. "I hope you find your sibs."  
Grizzly nodded gleefully. "I'm sure they've been looking since the day I disappeared." He turned to Glen. "I'll make sure to visit you here as soon as I reunite with them."

"Of course," Glen acknowledged Grizzly. "Now go already! You want to see them as soon as possible, don't you?"

Grizzly vigorously shook his head in affirmation, and spread his wings. In a few wingbeats, he had lifted off, and flew towards the north. Torrent watched as he became a tiny speck in the distance.

"You're staying?" Torrent asked as he glanced at Glen, surprised.

"Yep!" Glen replied. Torrent looked slightly confused. "Someone's got to help these dragons get back on their paws," she explained. "Unlike the majority of them, I've had experience with ordering dragons around. A few moons with Loam and you'd be prepared too."

 _Do they need to be ordered around?_ Torrent wondered. He supposed so, although giving the town coordination and direction might be a less authoritarian way of putting it.

"Where are you and your feathered friend going?" Glen asked. She glanced over to Griffin, who was chatting with Schist about something. They both suddenly burst out laughing, and a warm smile appeared on Glen's snout. "You don't want to live with a bunch of grumpy MudWings that all hate you, I take it?"

Torrent shook his head. He saw the glare that MudWing had given him. The majority of the MudWings that had left were ones who hated Adobe and had wanted to get out anyways; a large amount of his supporters would be staying behind, and they wouldn't be happy with the foreign SeaWing prince who had removed their town's protection and invisibility. Glen they might eventually forgive, but there was no place for Torrent here.

Torrent glanced at the scrollcase around his back, and pulled out Orca's map. He rolled it open, and carefully laid it out on a piece of dry ground. He wondered why the dagger didn't prevent it from working, wasn't it enchanted? Apparently Torrent could 'allow' certain enchantments to work under it, but he wasn't sure exactly how that was done.

Many of the ink dots were in the same places as they were when Torrent had last checked it, though a few had moved. The orange-ish one in the eastern Sky Kingdom was still there. "There's an animus in the Sky Kingdom, north of here. Maybe there's an invisible city of dragons there that needs our help too?"

Glen thought for a moment, and nodded. "Mhm. You wouldn't happen to have room for a third on your adventure, would you?"

"A third?" Torrent asked, puzzled. "I thought you were staying here."

"No no, not me!" Glen replied, snorting. "I mean Schist. He seems to be getting along with your bird friend over there."

Torrent looked over at Schist, still talking with Griffin. "Does he want to come with us?" he quietly asked Glen, so that Schist didn't overhear. Torrent wasn't so sure about this. He didn't know Schist at all, and two was really enough. What was the saying? Three's a crowd?

"I'll ask him," Glen said outright. "Schist!" she yelled to her brother. "Get over here!"

Schist meekly nodded and walked over to his sister. Griffin followed.

"Now," Glen said, "Torrent has kindly offered to take you with him and the bird."

Torrent opened his mouth, thinking about protesting that claim, but Schist replied first.

"Leave the town?" Schist asked. "Aren't you staying here though?"

"I am," Glen stated, "but I don't want you staying here for me. In fact, I forbid it. You were always telling Quake and I how you wanted to go out and explore the world when the shield was gone, and now you have your chance."

Schist looked a little unsure. "We're sibs though, aren't we supposed to stay together?"

Glen rolled her eyes and paced back and forth. "Torrent and Griffin can be your new sibs, at least temporarily. I'll have the entire town."

"I mean, alright, I guess," Schist replied. He looked back at the town again. It was the only place he had ever known, and he wasn't quite sure he was ready to leave it yet.

Glen snorted. "Don't pretend you're not excited to go. I know you are. You better promise me you'll be back though."

Schist's expression of unsureness started to turn into a grin. "Alright, I'll promise!"

"Good," Glen said triumphantly, "I won't leave the town until you do."

Schist turned to Torrent with an excited smile stretching across his snout. "Thank you!" he thanked Torrent. He turned to Griffin, who looked almost as gleeful.

Torrent gave Glen a glare, but didn't try and refuse Schist. He would've liked a bit of say in the matter, but Glen didn't notice Torrent's expression, or if she did, she ignored it.

"Now," Glen ordered, with an expression between a smirk and a grin, "let me get you all some supplies from our food store before you're all off."

Glen glided off, while Torrent, Griffin, and Schist waited for her in an uncomfortable position.

"So . . ." Torrent said to Schist, elongating out his words, "are you sure you want to go with us?"

Schist nodded vigorously. Griffin looked up at Torrent hopefully.

"Alright then," Torrent conceded, trying to hide the slight grimace on his snout. He still wasn't sure that this was a good idea, but he supposed it wouldn't do much harm.

Torrent sat in silence while Griffin and Schist chatted about something or other. Torrent glanced over, feeling a little left out. Griffin was _his_ friend, wasn't he?

It wasn't too long before Glen returned, carrying jerky, bread, water, and other provisions, such as tarps. Torrent took them from her and placed what he could in his satchel, placing the rest in a large pack that Schist had put on beneath a wing. Torrent turned around, ready to be off.

"Bye!" Schist said to Glen. "I'll miss you."

Glen wrapped her wings around Schist quickly in an embrace. "Me too," she replied, "make sure to visit soon."

Schist nodded, and turned around. Torrent and Griffin were ready. "C'mon," Griffin spoke gleefully, "let's go!"

The three spread open their wings, and took off north, towards the Sky Kingdom, leaving Glen and the MudWings behind.


	31. Chapter 30

Torrent's original plan was to take a shortcut and fly over the Sea Kingdom in order to get to the animus in the eastern Sky Kingdom, but Schist changed that. Being trapped in Adobe's city for most of his life, Schist had been given no experience in long-distance flying, and he wouldn't make it that far soaring over water, with little place to set down. Instead, Torrent was forced to adjust their course: to follow the MudWing coast, make a detour inwards to avoid the dense MudWing population in the Diamond Spray Delta, and continue flying up the SkyWing coast until they reached their destination. Torrent was not particularly pleased, but Griffin and Schist didn't seem to care at all.

The view from above was pretty, but seeing swamps and marshes in every direction got dull quickly. The three flew high, in hopes of not being spotted, which just made the landscape seem more eternal. They crossed the Diamond Spray River towards the end of their first day: it would've been even earlier had they not had to avoid the delta. The river was wide, and there were plenty of dragons around it: SeaWing and MudWing merchants dragging barges up and down the river, filled with tradable goods and weapons too heavy to fly. Fortunately, no one paid Torrent, Schist, or Griffin any mind. MudWings and SeaWings were allied, and Griffin didn't look like much other than a large bird so far up.

Yet after that, they passed into SkyWing territory. This was much more dangerous, because of the war, and the consequences for being caught would be brutal. Torrent might be lucky enough to be held as an important prisoner due to his status as a prince, but Schist would be sent to Queen Scarlet's infamous arena, and Griffin might be stuffed and sent to Princess Burn as a present. They kept a much more wary eye out, and attempted to stay far clear of where Torrent thought the major settlements were. Torrent was nervous, but Schist and Griffin less so. _Aren't they at all worried?_ Torrent wondered.

The terrain quickly changed inside of the Sky Kingdom. The trees grew tall, and hills grew into mountains when Torrent looked to the west. It was his first time seeing mountains, even though it was from a distance. They were magnificent. He wanted to fly closer, but knew that they were much further than they appeared, and that the majority of the SkyWings settlements were in that area. They would stay between the coast and the mountains, where the population was sparsest.

Finally, they reached the end of their first day of flying, barely inside the Sky Kingdom. Torrent grumbled, frustrated that they had to make so many stops for Schist. He had hoped to go further, but the young MudWing's lack of experience had prevented that. It would take forever at this rate.

The three started to set up camp, finding a nice area underneath a dense stretch of trees, where they couldn't be seen from above. As Torrent and Griffin were setting up tarps, they suddenly smelt smoke and the burning of wood. "FIRE!" Torrent yelled in alarm, turning around to see Schist breathing a small amount of flame onto a wood-pile he had set up.

"Yes?" Schist asked as he stopped his flame, confused.

Torrent growled in frustration. "We need to put that out!" he yelled as he scooped up clumps of dirt with his claws, throwing them onto the budding flames and dousing them. He turned to Schist with a glare. "No fires," he hissed. "We can't risk having a passing SkyWing see the smoke in the middle of the night."

"Oh," Schist said dismayed. "I'll be cold though."

"Well, maybe you should've stayed back with Glen in the Mud Kingdom," Torrent spat.

Schist's looks fell, and he walked over to a small patch of dirt and buried his snout deep within it. Griffin gave Torrent a look of frustration.

"What?" Torrent asked Griffin. "I'm right, you know."  
"It was still rude," Griffin chided. "And you're forgetting he's not a SeaWing used to living at the bottom of the ocean. You don't _get_ cold, at least not in the way most other dragons do."

"What do you know about dragons," Torrent muttered under his breath.  
"I heard that," Griffin replied, keeping his calm. "You're in one of your moods again."

Torrent gave Griffin a glare. "I'm in a _mood_?"

Griffin nodded. "Yep. You totally are. And you need to stop acting like that to us just because of it."

Torrent wanted to protest, but Griffin was right. "Fine," he admitted. "I'm in a mood. Do you want me to apologize, or what?"

"Do _you_ think you need to apologize?" Griffin questioned.

Torrent clenched his teeth. "Probably," he grumbled.

Torrent walked over to Schist, taking a deep breath in. Schist looked up with a soppy stare. "Look," Torrent said, "I'm sorry about saying that. We can't have a fire, but if there's any way I can make you feel warmer, I'll do it." Griffin nodded in satisfaction.

Schist smiled. "Thanks, but I'll be fine."

Griffin walked up to Torrent, looking quite small against the SeaWing's wings. "So," Griffin turned asked Schist, "is it just me, or can Glen be sort of be . . . you know . . ."

"Bossy?" Schist finished, chuckling. "Don't worry, I see it too. She can get completely insufferable at times. She wasn't always this way though." An expression of grief started to form on Schist's face, his scales drooping. "I guess she kind of took it upon herself to become our bigwings after Quake died."

Griffin joyful smile became solemn. "Yeah, I understand," he replied uncomfortably. "Torrent and I's sister died too. Well, sisters."

Schist gave Griffin a bit of a questioning stare.

"Ah," Griffin quickly responded, realizing what Schist was confused about, "can't see the family resemblance?" Schist nodded.

"Orca sort of adopted me," Griffin explained, "I mean, maybe she'd be more of a mother to me, since she created me, but I thought of her as more of a sister and all."

"Was Orca an animus?" Schist asked. "That's how you were created, right? Through the same magic Adobe had?"

"Err, yeah," Griffin awkwardly confirmed. "Good magic, though. I think. I'm not actually sure animus magic is good or evil."

"It's evil in nature," Torrent muttered, "but it can do good things occasionally. Rarely."

"Okay," Schist said. "So, was Orca like a bigwings to you?" he asked.

"Sort of," Griffin responded, "I mean, she the older sister, so she did older sister stuff, but she wasn't even the oldest one of Torrent's siblings, and SeaWings don't really have the whole bigwings thing. Our parents are more of our bigwings, so Coral and Gill I guess."

"Oh." Schist looked deep in thought for a moment, then his face lit up in surprise. "Wait, _Queen_ Coral?" he asked in shock.

"Yeah, that one," Griffin said. "Wait, so if I'm Orca's adopted brother, does that make me Prince Griffin? I like the sound of that!"

Torrent frowned a little. "Griffin, maybe we shouldn't be telling every MudWing we meet my family history?"

Griffin rolled his eyes in a pronounced fashion. "Schist is _literally_ the first MudWing I've told, and he's going to be travelling with us anyways. He deserves to know our secrets, although they're hardly secrets. Any dragon can see the starbursts under your wings."

"Starbursts?" Schist asked, confused.

Griffin nodded, then lifted one of Torrent's wings up with a talon, revealing the starburst patterns beneath. "See? These mean he's a royal SeaWing. They can light up too, show him Torrent."

Torrent pulled his wings back in. "No. I'm not something to show off."

Griffin grinned slightly, as much as he could with a beak. "Fine, but I'm still going to tell him about Orca."

"Tell him what?" Torrent snapped. "You already told him she's the animus daughter of Queen Coral. Well, she used her magic too much, killed our other sister and forced the rest of the SeaWings to forget her, then challenged Coral to the throne and lost. That's it."

"Debatable," Griffin muttered slightly, "and you forgot a lot. Like, we found this crazy old NightWing named Sunscorcher, and read a lot of scrolls, and helped her on her sculpting, though that didn't go very well, and complained a lot about River too and such."

"Not important," Torrent hissed. "He doesn't need to know everything about our personal lives."

"Well, isn't that the interesting stuff?" Griffin argued. "It would be no fun if we just listed Orca's birth and death dates for him, would it?"

"This isn't supposed to be fun," Torrent snarled, "it's supposed to be sad, and we're should be grieving and crying or something over her death right now. It's an insult to her memory."

"What's an insult to her memory is you being grumpy all the time," Griffin retorted. "She would've wanted you to think back fondly on our time together and to keep on being happy!"

Torrent stood silent for a moment. Hints of tears started to form in his eyes. He missed Orca. He couldn't take this anymore. He turned around and walked off into the SkyWing woods.

"He'll be back," Torrent heard Griffin say, "I don't know what's been with him today, he's not usually like this."

Torrent continued walking, until he couldn't hear Griffin anymore. He sat down, and buried his snout in his claws, holding back tears. He didn't need to cry, not now.

Suddenly, Torrent heard a rustle in the bushes. Something was there — something large, like a dragon. He pushed away his grief, this was urgent. If the three were caught by a band of SkyWings. . .

Torrent froze. Maybe whatever was there hadn't heard him? He heard footsteps walking towards him. Torrent crouched in the bushes, peering through the cracks. He hoped the dragon hadn't noticed him. He held his wings tight against his scales, and waited.

Suddenly, Torrent heard a snap of a stick, almost right in front of him. He jumped outwards in a pounce. A yell of alarm sounded as the dragon beneath his claws rolled away from him. Torrent turned, and tackled the dragon to the ground again. The dragon was smaller than him, and it didn't take much for him to pin his struggling opponent down to the ground.

The dragon attempted to get free again, but Torrent held on. Finally, his opponent came to a rest. "Get off me!" she hissed.

Torrent looked down to get a better view. It was dark, and it took a moment to realize she had light scales, not the orange-ish colors of the SkyWings he'd expected, but the light-blue scales of an IceWing. Her serrated claws and long horns confirmed this fact. She was around Torrent's age, maybe slightly older, but smaller. A silver chain was wrapped around her neck, with a dark purple stone at the bottom. She turned her head up towards Torrent, and opened her mouth wide, a hissing noise sounding within her throat. Cold air wafted up towards Torrent's snout as Crystal prepared her frostbreath.


	32. Chapter 31

Torrent took his claws and rammed them against Crystal's throat, pushing her head away, and her mouth away from his direction, defusing the threat of frostbreath. He pinned her head to the ground, with his paw on her neck. Her scales scraped against the coarse dirt. They felt cold to the touch, like the frozen kingdom in which the IceWings lived.

"What is an IceWing doing in the Sky Kingdom?" Torrent interrogated, growling.

"What's a SeaWing doing in the Sky Kingdom?" she snapped back.

By this time, Schist and Griffin had heard the commotion. The two hurried over to see Torrent pinning Crystal down. "Are you alright?" Griffin asked Torrent. "What's an IceWing doing here?"

Crystal glanced over at the newcomers. A MudWing, and some weird feathery pet thing. "What's a . . . you know, nevermind," she grumbled. "Let me go."

"No!" Torrent exclaimed. "You just tried to breath your freezing death breath on me!"

"You're the one who attacked me," Crystal hissed. "Now get off me, your breath smells like rotten fish."

"No. Tell me what you're doing here," Torrent ordered. Schist approached her cautiously. He hadn't ever seen an IceWing before, and was curious.

"I'm just passing through," she muttered. "I'm trying to get _out_ of SkyWing territory. Happy?"

Torrent thought for a moment. The SkyWings were the SeaWings' enemies; if she was an IceWing spy, he didn't need to interfere.

"Maybe you should let her go?" Griffin suggested. "I mean, it's not like we can just take her with us."  
"Yes!" Crystal exclaimed. "Listen to the talking bird."

"Maybe," Torrent said, "but she could come back and kill us in the middle of the night." _She's already tried to kill me once, what if she does it again?_

"What?" Crystal snorted. "Why would I do that? So I can see your ugly snout again?"

" _Quiet._ Better safe than sorry. We can keep her with us for the night, and we'll decide what happens to her in the morning."

Crystal gave Torrent a cold stare. Griffin rolled his eyes a little. Schist walked back over to Griffin, and frowned. It didn't seem like anyone else agreed with Torrent.

"I'll take first watch," Torrent commanded. "Schist, get me some rope to tie her up with."

Schist sighed, and did as Torrent asked, trotting over to one of their leather packs. A few seconds later, he returned with the rope Torrent had asked for. Torrent took it from him, and with Griffin's grudging help, tied Crystal to a tree, her wings uncomfortably crammed against its bark.

"You know, I could just yell and keep you all awake the entire night," Crystal pointed out in irritation.

Torrent looked at her with a skeptical look on his face. "Maybe I'll tie your snout up too," he muttered. "That way there's no risk of you using your frostbreath on us either."

"Alright, alright," the young IceWing conceded. "I'll be quiet, and no frostbreath, and my mouth stays open, okay?"

Torrent hesitated for a moment. It would certainly be safer if he tied her snout up. Griffin looked at Torrent, giving him a glance of disappointment. "Fine," Torrent agreed. "You can keep your snout open."

Schist and Griffin went to their respective sleeping areas, while Torrent stood, staring at Crystal silently. _What is she doing here?_ he wondered. _Maybe she's the animus I'm looking for?_

He pulled out his map, and laid it on the ground, rolling it out. He brushed the dirt off the edges and pointed a claw to where he believed his group was at the moment. The animus marker was still where it was, far north and slightly to the east of his location. This IceWing was not an animus.

"What's that?" Crystal asked, making Torrent jump out his scales for a second.

He quickly spread his claws over the map, making sure Crystal couldn't see it. "None of your business," the SeaWing bitterly hissed.

Crystal squirmed in discomfort. "You know, I could see your map for like, a few seconds, right? There's a bunch of colored blotches on it. One of them is in the Sky Kingdom. What are they?"

"Shut up," Torrent snarled, "I told you I'd bind your snout."

Crystal glared at Torrent. _What's his problem?_ she wondered. He looked to be the size of an adult, but he had the voice of an adolescent dragonet. Her age, maybe. Slightly younger. She couldn't see that well in the dark of the night. If she hadn't been caught by surprise, she probably could have fought him off.

For the next couple hours, Crystal consigned herself to rest. The SeaWing didn't want to talk to her, and the few times she attempted to strike up a conversation, purely out of sheer boredom, he refused to talk. Eventually, she fell into a sleep, although the discomfort of her bindings and being held upright made it shallow. She was constantly nudged in and out of a dreamstate, flooded by the images of burning SeaWings and NightWings with cats crawling out of their mouths.

After a while, Crystal woke up to movement. The SeaWing had gotten up while she was gone, and the MudWing had replaced him. He was fidgeting with the sticks on the ground, making shapes and patterns with them.

"Hey," Crystal said, alerting him to her awakeness. "You there?"

Schist nodded cheerfully, glad she had answered. She wasn't exactly sure how long he had been sitting there with nothing to do but watch her sleep and play with sticks. "Do you have a name?" Crystal asked him. "I'm Crystal, by the way."

"Schist," the young MudWing replied. He looked at Crystal's tail, seemingly fascinated with the long spikes on the end.

Seeing this, Crystal shook the end around. It might do well to befriend one of them, and this one looked kind enough. "They're tail spikes," she gently explained. "All IceWings have them."  
Schist looked over at his own tail. "Are they uncomfortable?" he asked compassionately. "They look like they'd weigh your tail down, or dirt could be caught between them."

Crystal laughed. "They're not too much of a bother, though I might've just gotten used to them. I used to poke myself with them when I was a young dragonet, but they're pretty tame now."

Schist smiled and shook his thick scaled tail, probably wondering what having tail spikes would feel like himself. "So, how did you end up here?" he asked. "In the Sky Kingdom, I mean."  
"Is this an interrogation?" Crystal snorted with a chuckle. "Just joking. Queen Glacier decided she didn't want me anymore, so I left." She wasn't sure how much she wanted to tell this dragon. What if he wanted to turn her in for a bounty or something? Had Queen Glacier put a bounty on her? Probably, Glacier would gleefully murder her own daughter to get what Crystal had taken from her. Not like that was saying much, Princess (or was it Ex-Princess now?) Blackice was literally the worst dragon Crystal had ever met, and her permanent banishment to the frigid islands far north was far from a mistake.

"Ah," Schist replied, understanding what Crystal meant. If a queen didn't want you anymore, that was a _very_ serious thing. "I guess I'm kind of on the run here, though not really. I'd be drafted into the army if I was found by Queen Moorhen. Torrent is on the run too, he's got a bounty on his head." Schist suddenly worried he might be giving the IceWing a bad idea. "Well, all of him, not just his head. He's wanted alive."

Crystal tilted her head upwards, thinking about this. Was Torrent the SeaWing? Probably, Torrent didn't sound like a gryphon name, if that's what the bird thing was. Although Crystal wasn't exactly sure what gryphon names were. Talon, maybe? She remembered reading a scroll about a gryphon named Talon when she was younger. Schist really needed to learn how to hold his tongue better, telling Crystal all that information could be dangerous. If she was a pinch for some gold, turning the SeaWing in could help. She didn't need money though, she needed to get rid of the Darkstone somehow, to make sure no one could ever use it.

"Neat," Crystal acknowledged, "so what are you doing with a SeaWing and a gryphon? Do those even exist?"

"I think they exist," Schist replied, "he was made by animus magic I think." _Animus magic?_ Crystal wondered. _Did animus dragons still exist?_ She thought back to the Darkstone she was wearing. Animus dragons were certainly dangerous, which was why she needed to make sure this . . . weapon was secure as soon as possible. Yet, if the SeaWings had an animus, what if they used it against the IceWings? _Maybe stealing the Darkstone wasn't such a good idea after all,_ Crystal thought. It would certainly prove useful if the SeaWings decided to use magic. Had she betrayed her tribe, only to doom them?

"I'm with them cause I want to go on an adventure," Schist continued, "they helped save me and my town a while back, and I'm here to help them. I miss my sister though. I'm a little worried about her. What if she gets hurt? What if I get hurt, and I never see her again?"

 _Help them with what?_ Crystal wondered. She didn't want to pry too much though. That would only make Schist more tight-jawed, which could be unfortunate for finding out what these dragons were doing here, and how best she could escape them, especially if they decided to kill her. "I have a sister too," Crystal sympathized, trying to win Schist over to her side, "she's back in the Ice Kingdom, and I'm worried for her also. Short of a miracle, I doubt I'll ever see her again. Queen Glacier would kill me if I set one wing north of the desert."

"Oh," Schist said. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your problem," Crystal shrugged, her wings rubbing against the rope, "most dragons have it worse than me, cause of the war and all."

"Yeah," Schist feigned. He really had no idea. He had never been out of Adobe's city and he'd only been told about the war from the few unfortunate dragons who had wandered inside accidentally, like Grizzly. He wondered how Grizzly was doing; had he found his sibs yet?

"Well," Crystal yawned, "I'm going to get some shut-eye now, nice talking to you."

Schist nodded, and went back to playing with his twigs and sticks. Crystal continued falling in and out of her dreams, until once again, she had noticed that the dragon watching her had shifted: it wasn't a dragon at all now.

"Good morning," Crystal smiled drowsily.

Griffin attempted to make a smile with his beak. "Still a bit early for that," he informed her, "around an hour or two until sunrise."

Crystal bobbed her head. Hopefully they'd let her out of these ropes, but if not, she was prepared to fight. "So," she questioned, "what exactly are you? If you don't mind me asking. Schist said something about animus magic?"

Griffin fidgeted back and forth. "Er, yeah, I was enchanted to life. I'm a gryphon though."

Crystal continued nodding, as if she was somehow approving him. "Don't worry, it's not too surprising," she assured Griffin, although it sounded a bit like she was assuring herself of that, "we've got plenty of magic in the Ice Kingdom, though I've never seen anythi — anyone like you. It's old magic, of course, but it works. Do you have a name? I'm Crystal."

"Griffin," Griffin answered.

"Griffin?" Crystal skeptically asked. "As in, you're a gryphon, and your name is also Griffin? Who came up with that idea?"

"Torrent," Griffin replied, frowning a little, "he's the SeaWing."

"Alright, that's cool. Nice. Easy to remember." Crystal didn't particularly want to offend the gryphon or the SeaWing. "So, what are you doing in the Sky Kingdom? Last time I checked, there weren't any gryphons here."

Griffin paused for a moment, wondering how much he should tell Crystal.

"I can go first," Crystal suggested, hoping to make Griffin a bit more friendly towards her. "I stole some of Queen Glacier's treasure," she explained. It wasn't technically a lie. "Obviously she didn't take kindly to that, so I flew off."

"So you're a thief?" Griffin asked, frowning.

"No, no!" Crystal protested. "Well, sort of, but that's not why I did it. She stole it from my sister a few years ago, so I decided to take it back." That was definitely a lie, though Griffin didn't seem to notice. "I decided to go to a small town on the east SkyWing coast, founded by my brother-in-law, Fracture, but when I got there it was completely destroyed."

"Fracture?" Griffin asked in confusion. "Is that, like, a common IceWing name or something?"

"Why?" Crystal wondered, intrigued. _Do they know Fracture somehow?_ "Did you meet him? He's got white scales with a greenish tint and an eyepatch. He's really, really nice to everyone, but he's a bit weird. Like, crazy uncle weird."

"I don't have an uncle," Griffin mentioned, "but yeah, that's him. I met him after I left the Sea Kingdom; I tagged along with him for a bit, and he helped me find Torrent again." A dark thought crossed Griffin's mind. "Wait, is he dead?" he asked. "You mentioned that the town was destroyed . . ."

"Fracture? No, not that I know of. Some weird NightWing said Fracture was still alive and kicking, though I'm not much for trusting NightWings." She suddenly remembered what her goal here was, and talking about her brother-in-law was not it. "Oh yeah, so it's your turn to tell me what you're doing in the Sky Kingdom."

"Well, there's an animus up in the northeast corner of it," Griffin explained.

 _The SkyWings have an animus too?_ Crystal thought. All these years of Queen Glacier working day and night to get animus magic back in the royal family, and these dragons had just happened upon _two_? She almost laughed, thinking about what Queen Glacier's expression would look like if she heard about this. It was ironic. "And you want to ask this animus to enchant something for you?" Crystal guessed.

Griffin shook his head. "No, no, I think we're planning on killing it."  
"That seems like a bad idea," Crystal snorted skeptically, "last time I checked, animus dragons have _magic_."

Griffin nodded. "Well, sure, but Torrent's got a way to take care of that. He's got this magical dagger thing which destroys animus magic. It's a bit frightening, if you ask me."

"Since you're enchanted yourself?" Crystal inferred. "Yeah, I can see why that might be worrisome." She thought back to the Darkstone draped around her neck. _If the SeaWing can destroy animus magic, maybe he can destroy it! Maybe . . ._

Griffin looked at Crystal, thinking. "You know, I could just let you go right now, if you'd like. Torrent is just a bit paranoid, he really shouldn't have tied you up."

Crystal pushed against her bonds, trying to stretch her wings. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd mind me joining you. I really didn't have any plans, and don't have anywhere to go. I can fight, not as good as my sister, but good enough." _And if I can get near enough to that dagger to try destroying the Darkstone, this whole thing might be over!_

Griffin opened his beak in surprise. "Do you want to?" he asked. "I don't really have a problem with it, any friend of Fracture's is a friend of mine, but I don't know how Torrent would feel. Nor Schist for that matter."

"Oh, I talked to Schist earlier, I'm sure he'd be happy," Crystal smiled. This whole 'making friends' thing was really paying off.

"Alright!" Griffin supposed. "I'll talk to Torrent about it in the morning."

"One last thing," Crystal suggested, "do you mind getting me out of these ropes?"


	33. Chapter 32

"Torrent, wake up!" Griffin excitedly trilled, jumping up and down. "It's already past dawn!"

Torrent slowly rolled over to see three sets of eyes perched over him. Griffin, Schist, and . . . the IceWing.

Torrent suddenly leaped to his paws, threateningly whisking his tail back and forth. "What is she doing free?" he snarled.

"Relax," Crystal snorted, irritated.

"She's going to join us in our quest!" Griffin replied.

 _Quest?_ Torrent wondered. _When did this become a quest?_ "What do you mean? We can't just willy-nilly invite IceWings to join us!"

" _Crystal_ is nice," Griffin explained. "I met her brother-in-law while you were with Moorhen, and she wants to come with us. Schist agrees with me!" After a quick glance of hesitation, Schist bobbed his head up and down, endorsing Griffin's claim.

 _Nice?_ Crystal wondered in surprise. _No one has called me nice before._ "Don't worry, fishsticks." Crystal assured Torrent, "I'm quiet, it'll be like I'm not even there."

"No!" Torrent refused. "We don't know her, she could be dangerous, or out to get us or something!"

Griffin looked at Torrent and rolled his eyes. "Literally _no_ dragons are out to 'get' us, unless you mean Gill, and he hardly counts. Crystal's also a runaway! She's escaping from Queen Glacier, you're trying to stay hidden from Queen Coral and Queen Moorhen. And Queen Scarlet too, now that I think about it. Queen Scarlet might actually be out to get us, I've heard she doesn't like trespassers."

"I can help you through the Sky Kingdom," Crystal pointed out, "I know a safe passage through. You'll probably run into a guard outpost or something otherwise."

Torrent glared at Griffin with a steely glaze. First Schist, and now this random IceWing? He gritted his teeth. Yet, if Crystal did know a way through the Sky Kingdom, she would be an invaluable asset. He glanced over at Schist. He didn't want him to end up in Scarlet's arena.

"Fine," Torrent conceded with a growl, "she can travel with us for now. But if she tries anything . . ." The SeaWing left the threat unsaid, and Crystal narrowed her gaze.

Torrent thought he could kill her if things came to it. He had killed Adobe justly, hadn't he? If Crystal betrayed them, she would have to be executed, too. It was what was done to traitors in the Sea Kingdom. Harsh, maybe, but just.

"I'm trustworthy, if that's what you're wanting," Crystal blurted out. Crystal nervously swallowed the lie. She knew it was far from the truth: she had betrayed her patron, her queen, and her kingdom. She wasn't deserving of trust, or respect. Sure, she had done her deeds for the good of all dragonkind, but that didn't make it any better. Allowing Queen Glacier to win the war using the Darkstone might condemn the MudWings to death, but it would save many IceWing lives: the dragons Crystal had grown, played, and learned with as a dragonet.

"Get packed," Torrent ordered Griffin and Schist. "We leave as soon as possible. I don't want to stay in the Sky Kingdom much longer, it's dangerous."

Griffin and Schist gathered the few materials they had out, and packed them away. When they were done, Torrent turned to Crystal. "Well?" he asked. "You say you know how to get through the Sky Kingdom, tell us the way." He pulled out his map, and pointed to their destination on it.

Crystal nodded nervously. She actually had no idea how to get to where they were going safely, at least all the way there. The map Avalanche had given her went a bit further up the coast from here to the destroyed village, but Crystal wasn't sure what lied beyond. She would just roll with it and hope for the best.

"We go north of here, avoiding the peninsula," Crystal replied. This much she knew from her map. "We'll continue along the coast from there."

Torrent spread his wings, almost knocking them into Crystal. She glared and took a step back as the SeaWing flapped them, taking off. Griffin and Schist followed shortly after, with their feathered and leathery wings respectively. Crystal continued after them, glancing behind to make sure they was as little trace as possible they'd camped there overnight.

The four flew to the north for quite some time, Crystal in the front, and the other three lagging behind her. Crystal followed the map Avalanche had given her, but it wasn't too long before she saw the smoldering ruins of the village in the distance. She decided it would be best to steer clear of it: she didn't want Griffin realizing that the village wasn't that far into the Sky Kingdom, and that NightWing she had met, Trustbreaker, could still be in the remains of the town.

After they passed the remains, Crystal started to get a bit more nervous. The war between the SkyWings and SeaWings had primarily taken place on the border between the MudWings and SkyWings, but that was no assurance there'd be no guards patrolling the coast. Every beat of her wings in the Sky Kingdom was treacherous.

The four continued flying over the Sky Kingdom's coast, with the expanse of ocean to their right, and the mountains to their left. Trees rose tall, but were only tiny twigs to the dragons far above. The wind swept under the four's wings until they were sore.

Schist picked up his pace a little, and caught up to Crystal. He looked a bit out of breath. He said something to Crystal, but the words were lost in the rushing wind, grinding against Crystal's ears.

"WHAT?" Crystal asked, almost yelling. "Speak up, I can't hear you!"

"Does the Ice Kingdom look like this?" Schist asked, a bit louder this time, although Crystal still had to strain her ears to make out the words.

"A bit," Crystal called back. "But only in the south, and in the winter all the trees would be completely blanketed in snow." The south of the Ice Kingdom was primarily where the lowest-circled dragons resided, but Crystal had spent much more time there than most IceWings of her rank, due to her apprenticeship with Boreal. That's where the mines were, at least the legal ones. After Queen Oasis' death, most of the IceWing mines had been moved further south, encroaching on SandWing territory, although Princess Blaze was readily willing to turn a blind eye to it in exchange for Glacier's allyship.

"What about the rest of the Ice Kingdom?" Schist asked curiously. "Is it really as cold as they say it is?"

"Oh, yeah, it's frigid to any of the other tribes," Crystal explained. "There are two primary areas of the rest of the Ice Kingdom: there's a huge expanse of flat land in the middle, which is mainly just covered in ice and snow for most of the year, and there's the mountains on the north-east coast, where most of us live. That part is cold and snowy most of the time too."

"Sounds fun!" Schist replied. Crystal thought he was being sarcastic at first, but then realized that his tone was completely serious: the Ice Kingdom was his idea of fun. "So, can I visit some time?"

"No," Crystal laughed, the idea completely absurd, "that's an awful idea! Even if you didn't die of cold, and weren't captured by IceWings, you'd be killed by the Great Ice Cliff."

"The Great Ice Cliff?" Schist asked. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's this giant cliff that surrounds the Ice Kingdom," Crystal snorted, waving a claw in the air as a cold blast of air blew against her snout. "It was enchanted to shoot giant deadly icicles at trespassers. Not a pretty sight."

"Torrent could help us through then, right?"

Crystal frowned as a shocking realization came to her. If that dagger could remove animus enchantments like she hoped, it could destroy the Great Ice Cliff. The Gift of Defense, which had protected the IceWings for thousands of years, would be gone in a second. Not to mention the rest of the gifts the IceWings had been given.

Crystal looked back at the SeaWing. She had to make sure he never got near the Ice Kingdom, or it could doom her tribe. "M-maybe," Crystal stammered to Schist.

Crystal slowed her pace down a little bit, and she and Schist slowly moved backwards relative to Torrent and Griffin. In a few seconds, they were flying side-by-side. Crystal took a look at Torrent's dagger, tucked in its sheath.

"Your dagger looks pretty nice," Crystal asked Torrent, inching a little closer to him. "Where'd you get it? It looks really fancy. What does it do?" Schist looked slightly disappointed that Crystal didn't want to talk to him more, but didn't try to interrupt.

Torrent gave Crystal a glare. "What do you want?" he snarled. "And how do you know it _does_ something?"

Crystal tightened her mouth a little bit. "A little birdy told me," she answered, completely truthfully. Hearing this, Griffin's expression changed to a mix between a grin and and a grimace, unsure if he should find this offensive or funny.

Torrent looked over at Griffin. "Really?" he asked in disappointment. "You actually _told_ her about it?"

"It's not like it's that important," Griffin replied. "I mean, how many animus dragons do you expect to meet?"

"She's an _IceWing_ ," Torrent stressed, "I _know_ I've told you about how much magic they've still got around. Can't you just shut your beak for a moment?"

"Yes, I can, but she's part of our team now!" Griffin protested. "She deserves to know about what we're doing."

"No, she doesn't, and she's not part of our 'team.' We don't have a team. It's you and me doing our stuff, and we've got some random MudWing who's just tagging along with us, and now an IceWing who's helping us through the Sky Kingdom. This isn't a team."

"You just described a team, like exactly!" Griffin replied exasperatedly. "We're a gryphon and a bunch of dragons working together for whatever reasons, which is what a team is! And Schist is part of our team, and so is Crystal as of this morning."

Torrent groaned, and turned back to Crystal. "Fine. Since birdbrain here wants me to so badly, my dagger destroys animus enchantments and prevents them from hurting me. Without it, we obviously wouldn't go after super-powered magical dragons. I got it from my sister."

"Her name was Orca," Griffin butted in, "she was an animus, and was pretty kind. She also liked to make creepy statues, but I'm not really one to talk since I'm apparently one of them."

"Wait, like _Princess_ Orca?" Crystal asked in surprise. "So that mea—"

"Just stop!" Torrent yelled at Griffin. "You don't have to tell everyone that Orca was your creator and my sister, like you're parading around that you're some weird feathery prince! She's dead, and isn't coming back, so just shut up about it! Also, for the record, her statues were _not_ creepy, you're the only one who thinks that! Everyone else, not that you'd know everyone else, thought they were really pretty!"

"Excuse me?" Griffin snapped back. "I'm sorry that you can't get over her death, but you're not the only one who misses her! She was just as much my sister as yours, and you can't just tell me to stop talking about her. And I'm literally one of her statues, so yes, I can say they were totally creepy!"

"You were _not_ as much her sister as I was," Torrent quietly growled. "I knew her for twice as long as you did, and yo — "

"Quiet!" Schist cried out, flying in-between the two, interrupting their fight. "Please, just stop squabbling about this for once! Crystal and I don't need to hear about Orca if it's this much of a problem!"

Griffin gave Torrent a quick glare. "Fine," he hissed. He slowly drifted a little bit away, and looked away from Torrent. Torrent did the same, leaving Crystal and Schist by themselves, in silence as they continued their long flight to the north-easternmost corner of Pyrrhia.


	34. Chapter 33

It was a few more uneventful days until the four finally reached their destination. Torrent and Griffin mostly stayed away from each other during the flight, and when they did interact, it was rarely more than a few cold words. Schist and Crystal talked between each other a bit more, mostly Schist drilling Crystal on the Ice Kingdom and the northern Sand Kingdom (which she had spent a fair amount of time in while apprenticed to Boreal). Crystal found him a little overbearing at times, but he made for nice company, and was deeply fascinated with everything Crystal had to say about her homeland. In some ways, it was nice to have someone that would just listen to Crystal talk about herself.

As they got further north in the Sky Kingdom, Crystal became more and more certain that they wouldn't be caught by Queen Scarlet's patrols. It was cold, almost as cold as parts of the Ice Kingdom up here, and SkyWings preferred their climates a tad warmer. Eventually, they had to stop going along the coast and go inland, but it didn't seem like that would put them at much risk.

As the three moved closer to the interior, the mountain chain rose high above them. It was clear to Crystal that Torrent and Schist were having trouble breathing at those heights, and the four were having to stop much more frequently. It was cold and dry, and eventually they reached heights tall enough that the trees were no more.

It was in the mountains where they finally reached their destination on Torrent's map: an enormous plateau in the middle of the mountain range, surrounded by snowy peaks all around. The four touched down on the empty expanse of dirt and dry grasses. A herd of yaks was grazing on said grasses, not too far from the dragons, and a few scavengers were herding them around. Seeing the dragons (and the unusual gryphon) not too far from them, they ran frantically towards one of the peaks, abandoning their livestock for safety among the slopes surrounding the great plateau. The four ignored them. The yaks would make for far better meal if needed.

Torrent breathed heavily, still unused to the thin air of the mountains. He attempted to stand up and appear strong, but Crystal knew better. Schist was doing the same, in addition to shivering. The frigid climate of the north-eastern Sky Kingdom was not for him, even when it wasn't yet winter.

Crystal and Griffin, on the other claw, were doing just fine. Crystal had spent much of her life among the tall peaks around Queen Glacier's palace, and the cold was no hindrance to an IceWing. She wasn't exactly sure why Griffin was unperturbed, but she supposed it was something to do with him being an enchanted statue. Now that she thought about, Crystal had never seen him eat. Strange, but not too much of a surprise.

The only visible landmark in the area was a crumbling stone statue in the center of the plateau, sticking out like a SeaWing in a crowd of SandWings. Griffin took a few paces closer to it, and opened his eyes in surprise. "Look!" he jokingly yelled back to the dragons. "It's me!"

"What?" Torrent scoffed, as he went closer, still gasping for breath. As he examined the statue up and down, he realized Griffin was right, at least somewhat. Although parts of it had crumbled over the ages, it did appear to be a statue of a gryphon, made from a dull marble.

Schist stepped over and examined it curiously. The statue rested on-top of a small granite pedestal. There appeared to be some writing on the base, but even if the MudWing could have made it out, the script was too old for him to read. Was it made by SkyWings? There didn't seem to be any around.

"It's not you," Torrent grumbled. "It's probably Talon or some other mythical figure."

"I-it looks a lot like Griffin," Schist pointed out, shivering. Griffin nodded in agreement.

Torrent shook his head. "No, it's the other way around. Orca modeled Griffin on descriptions of gryphons from legends. She might have even used drawings of this statue as a base for her own work." Torrent looked up and down at the statue, then towards Griffin. A sudden movement from Griffin's head startled the SeaWing for a second. Saying Orca based Griffin off this was an understatement, it was more like plagiarism.

Meanwhile, Crystal had been scanning the surroundings. "You sure your map is right?" Crystal asked Torrent. "All I see around here is the statue and a bunch of yaks; no animus dragons."

Torrent coughed. "My map doesn't lie. We might be a little off, but I know there's one somewhere nearby." He looked around at the desolate landscape. "If I were an animus in hiding, this is where I would go. There's no one here."

"If-f they're in h-hiding," Schist shivered, "m-maybe we should leave them alone?" He wrapped his wings around himself.

Torrent shook his head. "They could be hiding because they killed a bunch of dragons, and they're still an _animus_. They have magic, and they can use that power to murder and slaughter. We need to continue."

Schist nodded, even if he wasn't quite sure he agreed with Torrent's reasoning. Torrent pulled his dagger out of its sheath, and pointed it around, feeling the amethyst for any warmth.

"There," he said, pointing it towards one of the slopes. "I'm picking something up. That's where our animus is."

The four walked across the great plateau in silence for what seemed like an eternity. It was a lot larger than it had looked from above, and every time Crystal noticed the mountains ahead, it was like they hadn't gotten any closer. Suddenly, she looked around at the others nearby, and realized their numbers had dwindled. Only Griffin and Schist were next to her. Where had Torrent gotten to?

She looked ahead, and Torrent almost at the entrance to a small cave, nestled in the mountain slopes. _How had he gotten so far ahead?_ she wondered. _We've all been walking at the same pace._ "TORRENT!" she yelled. She spread her wings, and lifted into flight, going towards him at an uncomfortably low altitude. As she flew towards him, she realized that she wasn't getting any closer. She looked down, and a strange dizziness overcame her, causing her to plummet straight into the ground.

She rolled head over tail, the rocks beneath scratching her scales up. Fortunately, all were minor wounds; the pain quickly subsided, and she recovered to her senses. She shook it off, and got back on her feet. It was just scratches and bruises, and they would heal.

Griffin looked over at her, confused on what had happened. She had been flying much faster than they had been walking, but she still hadn't made any forward progress. How come Torrent — oh. Griffin realized what was going on, this was some animus enchantment, designed to keep them out. It was fortunate it hadn't been of a more deadly kind. They would need to be more careful as they continued on.

"Torrent!" Griffin yelled. "We need your help with an animus enchantment!"

Torrent looked back, hearing Griffin. He frowned, and thought for a moment, hesitating.

 _Don't you dare go on without us,_ Griffin thought angrily. _Don't even think about it._

After a long moment, Torrent made his choice. He started walking back to the group, and held out his dagger. He disenchanted whatever had been done to the land around them, and Griffin's vision went shaky for a moment as he readjusted to normality. "Let's hurry," he suggested to Schist and Crystal as he ran towards Torrent, finally making progress.

The four finally reached the cave entrance, a small entrance in the cave wall with blackened scorch marks all around the exterior. Torrent poked his head in. "C'mon," he murmured.

Inside the entrance, the cavern opened up to reveal an enormous oblong room. Shimmering surfaces of gold were scattered around the floor, with a hoard of shining treasure around their edges. Griffin went up to one of the pieces of treasure, a golden chalice with rubies and diamonds embedded around it.

"Wow," he replied in shock, "I've never seen so many shiny objects in all my life. Did Queen Coral have this much in her treasury?"

Torrent shook his head. He didn't know this much gold existed in Pyrrhia, and this was only the first cavern in the cave system. This animus was filthy rich. Unless. . .

"Queen Glacier didn't have this much either," Crystal pointed out. "She preferred gems and silver to gold, though. They fit more with the whole 'Ice Castle' theme."

Schist gave her a look. "Wait, you _saw_ Queen Glacier's treasury?" he asked in surprise.

Crystal nodded, and held up the Darkstone around her neck. "That's where I got this," she fibbed. In truth, she had actually taken it from her father's laboratory, but she had gone into Queen Glacier's treasury a couple times, when Boreal had asked her to fetch some gems and metals to test the effects of the Darkstone on inorganic materials. The tests didn't prove very useful, but it was interesting to see Glacier's treasury. But this, this was so much greater. The perfect gleam of each and every piece of treasure, as if they were washed by claw each morning.

Griffin held his talons out, and picked up the golden chalice to look at it closer. Torrent saw what he was doing, and yelled out, "Don't touch it!"

He was too late, and Griffin quickly dropped the chalice, throwing it onto one of the perfectly flat gold surfaces. When it hit the surface, a wave of molten gold splashed up. Griffin jumped back, barely avoiding getting splashed by the feather-searing metal. The chalice slowly sunk into the liquid gold, viscous waves slowly settling.

"All this treasure might be enchanted!" Torrent pointed out. "It could've killed you!"

Torrent brought his dagger near a golden crown on the side of his path. The yellow gleam of gold faded to a dull grey stone, showing the gold was truly just pebbles and water, behind whatever enchantment the animus had made on it.

"So it's not real?" Schist asked, looking closely at a pile of gold coins.

"I'd say it's real," Griffin muttered. "It was enchanted to be gold, and unless Torrent goes near it, that's what it truly is."

Torrent nodded. "Let's continue on. I don't need to spend my time in a room full of fake gold."

Griffin gave Torrent a quick glare, but followed behind him, Schist and Crystal after.

The four went through a few more rooms full of enchanted treasure, each more glorious and shimmering than the last, until they finally reached their target. A large dome-shaped room was where the path ended, with gold piled up in mountains around the cave walls, a river of molten gold beneath. The walls of the cave were covered in precious gemstones and coated in yet more gold.

At the edge of a mound, a SkyWing perked up, hearing the four walk in. Molten gold coated the bottom of her body, as if she had been sleeping in it. The golden coins around her were all melted and deformed, almost liquified. She stood up, with a glare of ferocity and anger, and took a step towards the group, gold dripping off her tail and legs into puddles on the ground. Torrent could feel the radiant warmth emanating from her scales as she menacingly walked forward.

"Hello," Schist introduced himself nervously, "I'm Schist, and this is Cr — "

"I don't _care_ what you are!" the SkyWing screeched, rage trembling through her voice as her talons shook. "You were sent by Erosion, weren't you? A bunch of dragonets, that's what she sends after me?"

"No, no," Schist continued, "w—"

"LIAR!" the SkyWing yelled, pacing back and forth. "Tell her I'm _keeping_ the animus magic, and if she wants me to give it up, she can enchant Copperhead back to life." She bared her teeth. "Or maybe I'll enchant your corpses to tell her."

 _Keeping the animus magic?_ Torrent wondered. _Did that mean someone gave her animus powers? That's possible?_ He was shocked, suddenly remembering what River had asked before Orca had murdered her. She had demanded that Orca make her an animus, but Orca didn't think that was possible. But if this SkyWing was telling the truth, it _was_ possible. And it meant that Griffin could've been saved without River's death. Orca could've just let River have what she wanted, and no one would have died.

Torrent snapped out of it. This was no time for regrets. "Get close to me!" he yelled at the others. Schist, Crystal, and Griffin huddled up against him, just in time.

"ALL OF YOU BURN!" the SkyWing animus yelled. The air around the four erupted into flame, singeing the tips of Griffin's feathers. Yet, it stopped short of turning them all to ashes. Torrent stuck his dagger out and rubbed the emerald, and the flames immediately subsided.

The SkyWing animus didn't even look surprised at what had happened; her face, eternally contorted in anger, didn't budge. Torrent leapt out at her, claws outstretched, and his dagger ready to stab through the SkyWings scales.

Suddenly, the SkyWing dodged to the right, scraping the tips of her claws along Torrent's snout and neck, down his gills. Torrent let out a bloody scream as he fell to the ground, making the other three tense up in alarm. The smell of searing flesh filled the room, emanating from Torrent's gills. It made Griffin want to retch. Torrent twitched limply on the ground, crying out in pain. The scales on the side of his neck had fused together with his gills and the pink flesh beneath from the severe heat of the SkyWing's claws. Whatever had done this, it wasn't animus magic.

The SkyWing turned down to look at her victim, grinning in delight. She lifted a claws up, planning to end the twitching SeaWing, when Schist suddenly rushed forward. The SkyWing glanced up in surprise.

"STOP!" Griffin screeched. He lept towards Schist, attempting to pull him back, but was too late.

Schist charged into the SkyWing, throwing the side of his back against her as hard as his body could allow it, throwing her across the room and away from Torrent, into a pile of partially melted gold. The odor of searing scales and flesh filled the room as Schist let out a blood-curdling scream. Griffin was unable to process it. His talons shook rapidly. This wasn't how things were supposed to be; Torrent should've been able to kill her quickly. Schist's voice quickly subsided. Griffin couldn't bear to look, and turned his feathered head away, shrinking back.

The SkyWing stepped over Schist's limp body, smiling as she looked down. The entire right side of his body had blackened scales seared into flesh. Little to nothing remained of his wing membrane on that side. If he was alive, it wouldn't be for much longer.

Crystal stepped forward, next to Torrent, and looked up to the SkyWing in an expression of shock and anger. Her lips pulled back to a snarl as the SkyWing laughed. The young IceWing trembled for a second, then opened up her jaws and let out a stream of frostbreath all over her enemy.

Any normal dragon would've been dead within seconds at a point-blank hit to the face, but when the superchilled breath hit the SkyWing's scales, it burst into steam, spreading out from the two, and quickly obscuring the two from Griffin's sight. The steamy enveloped the cave, spreading uncomfortably across Griffin's feathers, condensing into droplets of water on them.

Griffin hesitated for a moment. What could he do? He couldn't _fight_ the SkyWing, he'd be burnt to death. He could escape, and maybe save his own life, but that would condemn Torrent and Crystal to certain death. Yet, what other choices were there?

Griffin thought for a moment. If this dragon was an animus, then Torrent's dagger could turn her to stone. Yet, if another dragon, this 'Erosion,' gave the SkyWing her animus powers, then it would instantly make her not an animus when it got near, rendering the dagger useless.

Orca had mentioned something about the dagger being able to have exceptions to what it disenchanted, but only if Torrent allowed the said enchantment to remain. Griffin had been skeptical of going near it, knowing that he could be condemned to his previous mineral state if Torrent hadn't 'allowed' him. That wasn't a chance he'd wanted to take. Yet, the dagger hadn't killed him when he'd stood next to Torrent to protect himself from the SkyWing's enchantment, and Torrent's map had worked fine when the dagger was around. So maybe there was a chance.

Griffin blindly walked further into the cave. He heard the SkyWing and Crystal chasing each other, like a game of cat-and-mouse, with Crystal continuously spewing her frostbreath, keeping herself invisible. That couldn't last forever: she'd either run out of frostbreath soon enough, or the SkyWing would get lucky and 'catch' her, burning her to a crisp.

"Torrent?" Griffin called out, hoping he was still conscious. If he wasn't, then they were all doomed.

Fortunately, Griffin heard a faint groan in reply, and followed the sound to its source. He was able to make out the shape of Torrent lying on the ground, the dagger in his claws.

"Torrent," Griffin said apprehensively. There was no time to worry about his friend's well-being, or injuries. That could be dealt with if they survived. "I need to you to say, 'I allow the enchantment giving magic to the SkyWing animus.' Just like that."

Torrent let out another groan, and twitched a little in pain.

"Please, please," Griffin begged, "just trust me. You need to do this, for everyone."

Torrent muttered out some words that Griffin couldn't make out, tangled and strewn together. The steam was beginning to clear. Crystal's frostbreath reserves were at their end.

"You said it, right?" Griffin asked. He didn't receive an answer. There was no time to try again. Griffin crouched down to Torrent's claws, where his dagger was. If he was wrong about the enchantment, Griffin would be dead the instant he touched it. He took a deep breath in, and placed a shaky talon on its hilt.

He let out a sigh of relief, maybe a little too soon, after he realized he was still alive and conscious. Griffin picked up the dagger with his talons and spread a feathered wing out, using it to sense wherever the temperature was hottest in the cave. He heard movement in that direction, and decided that was where the SkyWing would be.

Griffin walked over, heart pulsing in terror. He noticed a small pull from the dagger, as if it were trying to return back to Torrent, but ignored it. When he got close enough to the heat source, the steam had emptied out enough for him to see the silhouettes of the SkyWing and Crystal, the former chasing after the latter.

Griffin rushed forward, placing a talon on the dagger's pearl, and stabbed it with all his willpower into the SkyWing's leg. It only took a moment before the heat of her scales forced him to withdraw, but that was enough. A grey layer of stone quickly crept up her body, turning her insides to rock. There was a short squeal before it was done, and where a SkyWing animus had been once before, only a statue remained, her face still in a twisted expression of complete and utter rage.

Griffin stepped back as the steam cleared, and dropped the dagger, which slowly clattered across the floor back to its owner. As she clutched the Darkstone around her neck, Crystal stared in silence at the stone SkyWing. Torrent sprawled across the ground in agony. And dropped in a mound of gold coins and countless riches, whiffs of burning flesh emanated from Schist's dying body.


	35. Chapter 34

Griffin stepped over towards Schist, shaking. He looked down at the young MudWing, half of his scales melted into his flesh. He was still alive, his gnarled chest slowly expanding and contracting, but Griffin doesn't know for how much longer.

Torrent turned his gaze towards Griffin, and attempted to get up and walk over to him. Torrent managed to hoist his body up, but fell again, the pain of the raw seared flesh too much. "What's wrong?" he asked Griffin, unable to see Schist's body. "Where's Schist?"  
"Over here," Griffin murmured, holding back tears. "He ran into the SkyWing in order to save you, but got horribly burnt. He's not going to make it."

Torrent was silent for a moment. "No, no, he's got to make it. It can't be that bad, right? We can turn ourselves over to the SkyWings in exchange for medical care, three moons, I'm a prince, they won't refuse us."

Griffin shook his head. "I don't think he could make it outside of the cave, much less to Queen Scarlet's palace."

Torrent roared in frustration, and attempted to lift himself up again, but failed. "This is all my fault," he groaned. "I shouldn't have brought him with us, I shouldn't have gone after the moon-damned SkyWing, I should have just told Glen that he needed to stay with her, and now he's dead, all because of me." He put his claws over his face in shame.

"STOP MAKING EVERYTHING ALL ABOUT YOU!" Griffin squawked in anger, his breathing fast. "Schist is the one who's dying, not you!"

Crystal walked over to Schist, and looked down at him, frowning. She rubbed the Darkstone around her neck between her claws. "I might be able to save him," Crystal whispered.

"What?" asked Griffin in surprise, whipping his head around to Crystal. "If you plan on using your frostbreath on him, that's just going to make things worse. It's hopeless."

She shook her head, and dangled the Darkstone from her talons. The dark purple stone swayed back and forth. "I might have lied a little when I told you when Queen Glacier had taken this from my sister. My father, a scientist named Boreal, created it in our laboratories."

"A rock?" Torrent hissed. "It's not enchanted, I've already checked. What are you going to do, pray to your 'Great Ice Dragon' with it for Schist to be 'miraculously' healed?"

Crystal glared at Torrent. "No. The IceWings used to have animus magic, many, many years ago, passed down through the royal family. In order to make sure our ani — "

"You're worse than Whirlpool," Torrent growled, "We know the history, I've read the scrolls. Prince Arctic was kidnapped, Darkstalker killed him, and you ran out of your precious magical monsters."

Crystal remained calm. "Yes. And for the last two millennia, the IceWing queens have attempted, to no success, to get animus magic, until Boreal, then a simple miner, found an unusual mineral after a cave-in that he hadn't ever seen before. While trapped down there, waiting for help, he did a few tests, and discovered that it killed insects."

Torrent seethed. "So it's a _pesticide_? You want to save Schist's life by killing a few bugs?"

"Let me finish," Crystal hissed. "When Boreal was eventually rescued, he was able to isolate what caused the mineral to act as a pesticide, a small speck of what we call 'Darkstone,' distributed throughout the mineral. Not only that, but he discovered that it . . . changes IceWing flesh, and presumably the flesh of other dragons. It allowed the flesh to gain a . . . quality that we believe is the cause of animus powers." There was a much more technical explanation of how it caused rapid demethylation, but Crystal didn't have enough time to explain, and she doubted anyone else would be interested.

"Over the last five years, we've been able to isolate and purify enough of the Darkstone to create what I have in my talons," Crystal continued. " _If_ it works as it's supposed to, I might have falsetto animus powers. I could enchant something to heal Schist."

Torrent hesitated for a moment. _More animus magic?_ "No!" he exclaimed. "If it works like real animus magic, it means that you'll _lose your soul_. You see that SkyWing?" He pointed a talon to the SkyWing, encased in stone. "That's who you'll be like, even if it works."

"What?" Griffin hissed at Torrent. "Orca certainly used more than a healing spell, and we don't even know if she lost her soul. Same with Adobe, and Sunscorcher, and the SkyWing; you saw all those gold coins, I'm sure they all used their magic to the maximum. It's just one spell, to save Schist's life, and then she can destroy it."

"Animus magic is pure evil, and she needs to destroy that thing as soon as possible," Torrent hissed. "I'm not letting her use it."

" _Pure evil?_ " Griffin screeched. "Then what does that make me? You don't get a say in the matter, anyways, it's Crystal's choice. I say Crystal does it." He looked towards Crystal in hope.

Crystal nodded. "I'll try," she said. She looked down at the pile of gold and gemstone covering the SkyWing's cave, and dragged her talons through a small collection of diamonds. She picked up a small clear diamond next to an octahedral shaped green one. She eyed it for a moment in apprehension. While she had mentioned what Darkstone could do in theory, at least from her work in the lab, there had been some nasty . . . side effects on animal test subjects, radiation burns and tissue destabilization among them. She put those thoughts out of her mind.

Holding the Darkstone in one talon, and the diamond in the other. Torrent tried to get up to stop her, but fall back over, clutching his neck in agony. Crystal took in a deep breath. "I enchant this diamond to heal anyone it touches."

Suddenly, a wave of nausea and fatigue washed over Crystal. All her muscles seemed to loosen up, unable to keep herself on four legs. Her head went dizzy, and she fell to the ground, her skull hitting the rocks below with a hard bump. Torrent's heart slowed to a stop as he saw her fall. This was like what happened when Orca had enchanted Griffin.

Griffin walked over to Crystal's unconscious body, stepping carefully around her wings. He picked up the diamond, which had fallen from her claws onto the stone floor. After staring at it for a moment, he walked over to Schist, climbing over the piles of gold to get to the young MudWing.

Griffin closed his eyes, and hoped for the best. He placed the diamond on the mess of Schist's melted flesh and scales, and waited.


	36. Chapter 35

Water splashed over a NightWing's claws as he stepped into a puddle. The NightWing took a glance down at his paw, and shook it, the spray of water droplets hitting two stray cats, curiously looking up at the dragon's silvery-black scales, tones of orange flashing off them. He tilted his head to look down at his feline companions with a solemn smile.

"I'm sorry," he apologized to the cats, "I'm sorry you got wet."

The two cats seemed to accept his apology, and turned away. One of them, a brown tabby with bright blue eyes, scrambled ahead, as if it was keeping watch for any enemies. The second stayed behind, walking side-by-side with the NightWing, the average size for a dragon, but a terrifying monstrosity to something as small as the cat. Yet, the cat didn't seem to mind the large size of its companion, in fact, it seemed to enjoy the company. It brushed against the NightWing's leg as he continued to walk onwards through the alleyway.

A third cat decided to join the scene, curious to whatever had convinced its brethren to join the dragon. This one poked its head out from a crack in the wall, then quickly lept out to see what the commotion in the cat world was. It pranced around the NightWing, nimbly dancing between his legs and tail. The NightWing walked onwards, careful not to step on the newcomer.

"Hello, my friend," he said to the third cat, "what brings you here today?"

He received no answer but a meow, but the NightWing just nodded in agreement. "Do not worry, my furry friend, I do not bite." He chuckled slightly, revealing his sharpened teeth. "I have food and water, if you would like to join me."

Evidently, the cat listened, and followed the NightWing down the alleyway, joining the blue-grey cat in the walk. The NightWing continued in this fashion until he reached his destination, and by the time he arrived, four more felines were walking with him. Seven in total.

Tiny droplets of water fell from the dark sky overhead, dripping from the roof of the blue-shingled roof of the building the NightWing was in front of. They fell through the air until splattering in his scales, then slowly rolled off him, leaving behind a shining trail that made his scales look almost metallic. As the cats knew, it had been raining for the past week, in a rare burst of downpour. The SandWings in the western half of the city (which many claimed was an entirely different city altogether) did not like this rain one bit, and many of the cats saw them constantly bickering and complaining about the horrible weather. The SkyWings minded much less.

The NightWing visitor knocked on the door three times, causing more droplets to rush off the roof onto his head and neck. He didn't seem to mind, but one of his cats sung with each rap against the door he made.

"Quiet, you," he playfully ordered, and the cat complied. The door swung open, revealing a SkyWing with crimson scales and a scowl on her face.

"I thought I told you dragonets to scra — " she hissed, before looking up at the NightWing in front of her, her scowl changing to a frown. Not much of an improvement, but at least it was something.

"Hello, Avalanche," the NightWing greeted her with a calm smile. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It has," Avalanche snorted with an air of haughtiness, as if she was attempting to impress her guest with her voice alone. "Get inside before you freeze the entire house. I just got a fire going, and don't want to let out the heat."

The NightWing nodded, and took a step through the doorway. His cats followed him, trotting into the doorway and making themselves settled, as if they owned the place. Avalanche frowned.

"I take it your pets are going to stay here too?" she asked with a growl.

The NightWing gently smiled. "Of course. Would you leave these poor creatures to stay out in the rain?"

"My house will be reeking of their piss in a day," Avalanche hissed. "And it will be another year before the place smells normal again."

The NightWing didn't reply, and Avalanche shut the door after the last cat entered, already knowing what his answer would be. The NightWing looked around the small home to see the fireplace burning bright.

"Are you enjoying the weather?" the NightWing asked Avalanche. "It seems like a cold rain would be a nice break from the usual heat."

Avalanche rolled her eyes, not caring to make small talk. "Why are you here, _Trustbreaker_ ," Avalanche hissed. "Is it safe to assume it's not because you wanted to talk about the weather or find some new pets?"

She glared at one of the cats, kneading at what looked like her sleeping quarters. The cat looked back innocently and gave her a meow in response. Trustbreaker smiled.

"He likes you," he interpreted for Avalanche. "He's glad he's found someplace warm. He's also hungry, and would be very grateful for some food."

Avalanche snorted. "You expect me to feed him?" she asked in skepticism.

"He's your _guest_ ," Trustbreaker explained, "and isn't that why you joined Fracture? To make sure no one starves?"

"I joined because Queen Scarlet killed my brother," Avalanche hissed. "I joined because hundreds of dragons die in battle each day, fighting in this idiotic war. Not to feed some stray cats. Now, are you going to scold me, or will you tell me why you're here?"

Trustbreaker sighed, his face falling. "Nautilus is dead. Scarlet's forces burnt down the village and killed everyone he had recruited." A couple of the cats looked up at Trustbreaker, as if they were mourning the fallen SeaWing.

"What?" Avalanche hissed in anger. She clenched her teeth. Yet another dragon dead by the claws of her tyrannical queen. "Did Fracture predict this?"

Trustbreaker shook his head. One of the cats walked over to the NightWing and nestled beneath his wing. Trustbreaker curled the cat closer.

A rumble of anger started to come up from Avalanche's throat, but it produced no flame. "What's the use of having a so-called prophet if he can't predict anything!" she exclaimed.

Trustbreaker moved a claw down the cat, gently stroking its fur. The cat purred in delight, rubbing up against the NightWing. He didn't respond. A rumble of thunder sounded from afar, and the pitter-patter of rain got stronger until it reached a loud buzz. Hisses of the other cats filled the air.

"Keep them quiet," Avalanche growled, raising her voice over the downpour. "We don't want anyone poking their snouts in here."

Trustbreaker nodded, and the whining of the cats quieted down. He continued to stroke the one rubbing up against him, the brown tabby. It stared at Avalanche with a gaze of intelligence.

"So, what do we do now?" Avalanche asked Trustbreaker, narrowing her eyes. She paced back and forth a little. With Nautilus dead, along with all the dragons he recruited to their cause, it meant that Fracture, Trustbreaker, Clarity, and herself were the only four remaining: alone, with no allies. "Our recruiting operation has gone to hell, and the war has only gotten worse."

"Fracture says he has a plan," Trustbreaker answer, with a hint of concern in his voice. "He wants you to take Nautilus' place as recruiter and organizer for now."

Avalanche snorted. " _Me?_ Has he finally lost it?"

"There are plenty of dragons here that would interested in an end to the war, SandWings and SkyWings alike," Trustbreaker suggested, "we'll be here for a few more months; plenty of time to find some potential allies."

"Unlikely," Avalanche replied. The rain continued pattering down on the roof, creating a ruckus of sound. "Everyone here just wants to mind their own business and ignore the war. They pretend like it's not happening, and that Pyrrhia is at peace. There's no war here, at least that's what they all claim."

"Who knows how long that will last?" Trustbreaker asked. "The peace here is already fragile, and I've heard that other settlements on the Five-Tail River have been attacked recently. This would be a good place for the IceWing army to enter the Sky Kingdom from."

"I _know_ that." Avalanche snorted. "It's the rest of the twin cities which don't know. What do you mean, 'we'll be here for a few more months?'"

Trustbreaker sighed. "Fracture has managed to set up a meeting with a top NightWing advisor to Queen Battlewinner, but the advisor refuses to hold direct negotiations with IceWings, so both Clarity and Fracture himself are out of the picture. Fracture thinks he might be able to work out semi-official support from the Night Kingdom. Originally, Nautilus was going to attend, but that's clearly no longer an option."

Avalanche looked at Trustbreaker with a glare. "And why can't you go?"

Trustbreaker glanced away. "Too many questions would be raised as to how a NightWing ended up with us, and if the wrong dragon saw me, there could be some serious issues. It's far safer for everyone just to keep me here."

Avalanche grimaced. "So I'll be doing this by myself. Did you know the NightWing I'm meeting with?"

The NightWing nodded, stroking his tabby. "Yes, but not well. He was an ambitious dragon, with his only loyalties to the Night Kingdom and himself. I suspect this one is similar. Stay wary."

Avalanche laughed heartily. "I'm trusting a NightWing named Trustbreaker already. Wariness is clearly not my strong suit."

Trustbreaker frowned. "I've told you before, my name has little to do with my personality, it's a remi—"

"I know, I know," the crimson SkyWing snorted. "I was making a joke. Don't worry, I'll be _extremely_ wary of this NightWing."

The NightWing breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Good. I should also warn you that Fracture expects us to have visitors before the meeting takes place."

Avalanche grimaced. "More? Is it that sister-in-law of his again? I told her to stay away."

Trustbreaker nodded, and his cat stared up into Avalanche's eyes once more as another burst of thunder shook the room. "It is, but this time, she'll be bringing company."


	37. Chapter 36

Schist walked past a shimmering pool of molten gold, one of his paws stepping slightly closer to the edge than he had intended. He pulled it away as soon as the heat radiating off of the liquid, his heart pounding in fear. He backed away and took a deep breath. It couldn't hurt him if he didn't touch it. He squeezed his eyes closed and crouched to the ground, trying to scrunch himself up as small as possible.

 _An aged MudWing sat in her thatch house, hidden gems tucked beneath her wing. She glared at the three dragonets, curiously poking at her horde._

 _"What are those?" Glen asked, poking her snout far too close the the MudWing. She received a sharp push from the MudWing's wing in response._

 _"Eggs," the mother growled, lifting up her wing to allow the dragonets a glimpse. There were four oval eggs beneath her wing, the eggshells almost thin enough to see the dragonets inside, waiting to burst free. "You want them?" she growled with nonchalance._

 _"Yes!" Glen exclaimed in excitement. She hopped around in glee, already excited by the prospect of new siblings. "We're going to have more sibs!" she notified Quake and Schist. "Isn't that great?"_

 _Quake towered over his two siblings, and laughed with concern. "No thank, ma'am," he answered the MudWing mother. "Three is enough for us, and we're too old to add newborn unsibs." He smiled uncomfortably, as if worried the mother would give him the eggs anyways. Glen gave Quake a glare and a snort, but didn't protest._

 _"Suit yourself," the mother yawned._

 _Schist poked his snout curiously at the eggs, counting them. One, two, three, and four. Three were normal MudWing colors — rust, caramel, and beige — but the fourth was a curious color; it was as red as blood. "Will that one be a red MudWing?" Schist quietly asked the mother. "I've never seen a red MudWing before."_

 _"What?" the mother asked, trying to parse Schist's question. "A red MudWing?" She chuckled. "No, it'll turn out similar to the others. Haven't you ever heard of blood-eggs before?"_

 _Schist shook his head, curious._

 _The mother nodded. "They're rare, but nothing too special. Their scales can't be burnt, not even by the hottest flame. Useful in battle against SkyWings and SandWings, or so I've heard." She said the word battle with a hint of disgust, cursing the very idea of war._

 _Schist turned to Quake. "Was I hatched from a blood-egg?" he asked hopefully, crossing his claws slightly._

 _"Of course you weren't!" Glen interrupted before Quake could answer. "Remember when you got too close to that fire?"_

 _Schist frowned, recalling the incident. "Yeah . . ." he replied glumly. He looked at Quake, hoping for him to contradict Glen's answer, but he didn't reply._

Now more than ever, Schist was certain that his egg was not the color of dragon blood. He took a talon and rubbed it down the scales on the right side of his neck, feeling the unnatural contours. Where they had once been smooth, they were now rigid and jagged, perverted and fused together by the SkyWing. He turned his neck from side to side, causing his melted scales to lock up and resist his movement. With a jerk he felt a burst of pain: the space between some of them had opened up, causing a wound to open up. Yet, it was easy to ignore. It was nothing compared to when his body had hit the SkyWing's, and he burned.

It had been two weeks since the fight with the SkyWing. Schist had initially been surprised when he awoke. He had expected to die, but by the same magic that had killed Quake, he had survived. All that had saved him from oblivion was the small diamond. For the first few days, he had been afraid to let it go, worried that the pain would return to him, or worse. Eventually, he gave it up, for Crystal's sake. She needed it more than he did, or that was what Torrent had thought.

He wanted to be grateful for the diamond, but even though it had "healed" him, there was so much more it could have done. He felt the misshapen scales strewn across his body. Maybe it had kept the burns from healing them, but the scars still remained. It had done the same thing with Torrent when the SeaWing had used it on his burns: it healed his wounds, but the scars of the SkyWing's claws still remained, visible to any dragon.

Torrent's scars might be easily seen, but they were nothing compared to Schist's deformity. Plenty of dragons had battle scars: it was a sign of maturity and strength. But "scar" was an extreme understatement of Schist's wounds. He took a glance at the pool of molten gold, then winced away at his reflection. He was hideous.

The afflicted scales were spread along his right side, extending down his tail, and creeping up his neck to the base of his snout. Instead of the clean, orderly pattern of interlocking plates on most dragons, Schist's scales were a mess. They looked as if a dragon had thrown a mound of clay onto the ground, and decided to wear that. In the worst places, it was difficult to see the individual scales, they were so fused together. In others, one had scales piled on top of each of each other, folded up like strewn about scrolls. Some of his scales were being pushed down by others, tearing into his flesh whenever he took a step. If he moved too quickly, blood would seep out. He looked nothing like the dragon he was before.

Schist took a breath, and slowly towards the furthest chamber of the caves, where Torrent and Griffin would be with Crystal. He poked his head into the chamber with a grim smile. Griffin gave him an awkward beak grimace, whereas Torrent avoided looking at Schist altogether, keeping his eyes focused firmly on Crystal.

Torrent had disenchanted the majority of the gold in the chamber, but small specks of the shimmering metal still abounded, strewn about the room. Schist looked at them with disgust. He never wanted to see the metal again.

Schist took a few steps towards Crystal, curled up on the ground, the diamond she had enchanted in her claws. The Darkstone was placed a short distance from her. The light-blue scales of her underbelly gently pulsated in and out, her breath shallow. She fidgeted slightly, lost in her unnatural sleep.

She had been this way for two weeks now, since she had enchanted the diamond. Torrent had remained calm at first, claiming that a similar thing had happened to his sister when she had enchanted Griffin to life, but after two days of Crystal being unresponsive, it became clear this was more serious. She moved occasionally, and she was alive, but not awake. Nothing any of the three did seemed to change that.

They had been trying to give her food and water, but it wasn't working too well, especially with the food. That was the primary reason she still had the healing diamond—it clearly wasn't bringing her out the coma, but hopefully it would prevent her dying of hunger or thirst, although considering the state of his scales, Schist was skeptical about how well the thing actually worked. How long was it that IceWings could go without food again?

Griffin was poking through the four's rations right now, looking through the satchels. He frowned. "We need to get more food," he notified Torrent and Schist, concerned.

Torrent looked over and confirmed Griffin's observation with a sigh. "Alright." He glanced over at Schist. "I'm not going to be any help unless there's an ocean nearby. You and Griffin can go. I'll stay and watch over Crystal."

Schist nervously nodded, with a glance around the cave. His scales ached, but he would be glad get back out of the horrendous cave. He might even try flying again; he hadn't tried since the fight. He tried to stretch his right wing, even through the gritting pain of his own scales poking and prodding into him, moving in ways they never should have. It wasn't fun, but it worked, and maybe some time and practice would let him fly again.

"C'mon, let's go," Griffin suggested, walking past Schist towards the exit of the cave. The gryphon's feathered wings brushed against Schist. Griffin only had scales on his talons, the rest of his skin was covered in feathers and fur. Flexible and painless, unlike the monstrosity Schist wore on his side. He followed Griffin to the outside of the cave, his amalgamation of scales objecting to every step.

Torrent remained behind in the cave, with only Crystal's shallow breath and heartbeat. He twitched his tail in annoyance, then started pacing. He glanced back at Crystal again. The IceWing was still. Torrent growled. "This is why we shouldn't mess with animus magic," he grumbled. He stared at the Darkstone in anger, then continued his pacing.

Torrent continued this way for a bit: walking back and forth with no purpose. Eventually, he tired of this, and pulled out his dagger. Over the last few weeks, he had been trying to disenchant all the gold and other magical items in the room, but it was tedious and tiring. He set to work by going to one of the piles of glittering coins and treasure, and swept his dagger across it, turning the precious metal to worthless pebbles.

Suddenly, while moving the dagger through the pile of money, he hit something interesting. He picked it up. A quill, presumably enchanted to be fireproof. Had the SkyWing been writing something with it? Torrent frowned before disenchanting it.

It didn't take much searching through the pile of pebbles and gold to find the scroll. Torrent disenchanted it quickly (most likely a fireproof spell, but better safe than sorry), then rolled it out along the ground. He read a random segment of it:

 _I met the most wonderful SandWing while I was in Crosswinds today! She goes by Copperhead (though I would call her Copper if she allowed me), and she's the most captivating dragon I have ever laid my eyes upon! Her bronze scales shine more than the most priceless jewelry in Erosion's hoard, and her voice is soft as the sand of, with a hint of the most enthralling coarseness. I first set my gaze on her while fetching letters for Erosion, but was too shy to speak. She noticed me, and asked me what was wrong, and I wish only that I could have answered honestly her question: the only thing wrong was that my scales were not against her own; that I could not hold her claws and spend eternity by her side. Yet, I had my duties to Erosion . . ._

Torrent continued reading the diary in contempt. It was the boring musings of some love-struck dragonet. He glanced at the date: around fifteen years ago. Before the war. Still, it was better than nothing. He continued on, skimming through a long and length description of how kind and beautiful Copperhead was, and then a droning piece on how frightened the SkyWing was that her to-be lover would find out about her firescales, which were apparently canceled by some magical bracelet or whatever she had been given to by her SandWing master and guardian, Erosion. From the account, Erosion was also the one who had given animus powers to the SkyWing, whose name was Magma, and had unfortunately rescued her from the normal fate of SkyWings with too much fire, being thrown off cliffs.

The idea of animus powers being spread like that bothered Torrent immensely. Something like that could be given to any dragon, no matter their intentions. It wasn't difficult for him to think of a few simple enchantments could distribute powers easily: a scroll in which every dragon who read it gained powers, a necklace which gave powers to any dragon who wore it. Though, he supposed, it wasn't much different than what the Darkstone could do, apparently.

Still, if giving animus dragons powers was possible, was the opposite true? If so, then Orca could have just enchanted her powers away. Had she known that was possible back in the Sea Kingdom, but kept her powers instead? What if she had tried to do that, but failed? Torrent shook his head and put the scroll down. It wouldn't do well to dwell on the past; he couldn't change it. Unless, of course, animus magic . . .

Torrent shoved that thought away. Using magic for something like that was just plain wrong, and the prospects were terrifying. He didn't want to think about those possibilities. He walked back towards Crystal, and glanced around at their satchels, strewn about by Griffin looking through them. He picked up his scroll-case, and emptied it out. A few scrolls rolled out, along with the map Orca had enchanted for him. He rolled it open.

There were only a couple more of the blotches indicating animus dragons east of the Claws of the Clouds mountains. All but one were in the Bay of a Thousand Scales or other SeaWing waters. If Crystal woke up — no, when she woke up — she and Schist couldn't fly so far over the ocean without breaks. The other animus was somewhere in the huge rainforest in the south of Pyrrhia, almost the opposite side of the continent. Far. There were a number of other splotches to the west of the mountains, and one in the mountains themselves. The nearest animus dragon to them was a yellow blotch along the Five-Tailed River, most likely a SandWing. Maybe that would be their next stop. If Torrent wanted to take Crystal and Schist with him, and they were willing.

Torrent set the map down and turned to Crystal, still unresponsive. He picked up the Darkstone, a short distance from her, and frowned. It created a strange tingling feeling in his talons, as if his scales were vibrating when they touched it. He didn't like it. He looked closer, putting the stone up to his eye. The stone was dark and cloudy, with shimmers of an unnatural purple light glimmering from within. The SeaWing covered the Darkstone with his other paw, making sure no torchlight was showing through it. The violet shine was still there, casting a faint, almost unnatural light on Torrent's blue scales.

Torrent took a quick glance at Crystal, making sure she was still asleep. After confirming that, he picked up one of the stones in the cave, and held it up. "I enchant this stone to levitate," he whispered, ignoring the feelings of shame and fear that it might actually work.

Torrent let go of the grey stone, and it fell to the ground, creating a small clatter. Clearly, the Darkstone hadn't worked for him. He snorted, and hit the stone away with his tail. It slid across the floor until it hit one of the piles of gold and pebbles, causing a small landslide. Torrent turned back to the Darkstone, wondering why Crystal had been able to use it. He set it down where it was before, the mysterious light still flickering.

He turned to Crystal, the diamond she had enchanted resting on her chest. It had healed both him and Schist, at least to an extent. He rubbed his claws along the scars on his snout, then down his neck, where the SkyWing, Magma, had scratched him. The diamond had healed the open wounds caused by the burn, but the scars still remained.

Although he hadn't told any of the others yet, his gill covers and the gills beneath had been damaged on that side, and they hadn't healed back properly. He couldn't breath underwater on that side anymore, although the other one still worked alright. Torrent wasn't exactly sure what that meant for his swimming anymore, but he suspected that even if he could swim, it wouldn't be easy. Even if he did end up returning to the Sea Kingdom, things would never be the same as they once had been. Not like they would have been the same anyways, with Orca, Rift, and River all dead.

He wondered how Angler would be doing. They had never had a close relationship, although the only dragon Angler had a close relationship was Rift, really, and maybe their father. Angler wasn't the type of dragon to go out of his way to make friends, even with his family, and had spent most of his time alone in his room, reading or writing scrolls on things no one ever cared about, like the scrolls Whirlpool normally gave Torrent. Still, Torrent felt a little bad about abandoning his remaining brother.

Torrent sighed, and turned away from Crystal. He hoped she would wake up soon. He wasn't sure what they would do if he didn't. The SeaWing turned away, and continued his pacing, marching back and forth across the stone floor of the cave.


	38. Chapter 37

The cold mountain wind brushed Griffin's feathers as he stepped outside of the cave. He grinned, trying to curl his beak up the way the dragons did it. This was where he belonged, not with a bunch of SeaWings under the ocean. He turned back towards Schist. "C'mon!" he shouted. "It's great out here!"

Schist slowly stepped under the cold sun, the brisk wind chilling and numbing the spaces between his fused scales. He shivered and winced. It was better than in the cave in some ways, but it was much too frigid. Too frigid for a MudWing to breath fire, not that he wanted to anyways. "It's cold," he muttered to Griffin.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Griffin replied, not knowing if Schist actually would. "Try moving around, it helps me." He didn't bother telling Schist about the enchantment Orca had placed on him to keep him warm at the bottom of the ocean floor when Torrent hadn't been looking, it wouldn't make things better.

"It _hurts_ when I move around quickly," Schist grumbled. "Remember? I've told you about ten times now."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Griffin responded with a hint of embarrassment. "Let's get moving, it'll help you ignore the cold." He hesitated for a moment. "But slow," he added, trying to be conscious of Schist's injuries. "We'll walk at your pace."

The two slowly walked across the plateau, the golden grasses furiously swaying in the cold winds. Down the gentle slope, the herd of yaks was grazing, being tended to by scavengers. They saw Schist and Griffin, and watched them warily, but didn't try to run. A small scavenger dragonet pointed to the two and shouted something, but one of the older scavengers pulled her away.

"Even the scavengers are staring at me," Schist muttered under his breath.  
"What?" Griffin asked in concern.

"Nothing," Schist grumbled.

"No," Griffin said with a frown, "it's not nothing. Look, it's alright if dragons stare at you, just cause you've got a few more scars than most. Sure, you look a little different, but it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Schist snorted in contempt, and Griffin glanced at the MudWing. "Well?"

"Fine," Schist sighed, "I'm just worried about what my sister will say. Now that I'm like . . . _this_."

"Don't worry!" Griffin quickly said. "I saw how much she wanted to get you back; there's no way a few weird scales is going to ever change that!"

Schist nodded with a grim smile, then turned back to the scavengers. "If we need food, we could take one of their yaks," he suggested.

Griffin stared skeptically. There were quite a number of them, all carefully watching Griffin and Schist. Most of them seemed to have weapons of some sort. "Probably not a good idea," he explained, "you're still not in fighting condition, and the largest ones are as tall as I am."

Griffin glanced up at Schist. He was almost a full-grown MudWing, three times as tall as any scavenger. Griffin, on the other talon, was tiny compared to him, and while he was certainly larger than a scavenger, that many posed a threat. Griffin was barely larger than even the yaks. The contrast was even more apparent with Torrent, who had gotten his father's size.

"Let's go," Griffin said. He started walking away from the scavengers, towards the north-east, and Schist followed.

The two continued walking like this for a while, looking around for any unfortunate yaks who had gotten separated from their herd, but to no luck. It was getting close to nightfall, and the two were about ready to turn back and give up hope, when Griffin heard something rustling in a nearby bush.

"Did you hear something?" Griffin whispered to Schist. Schist shook his head. "Just a minute, I'm going to check it out."  
He walked closer to the bush. It was large, and it was definitely possible that there was a yak behind it, or maybe a deer at least, just something Torrent and Schist could eat. He took a step closer, when suddenly, he heard Schist yell something out.

Griffin turned around to see Schist with a frightened expression on his snout, along with four SkyWings behind him, curiously staring at Schist. A large rustling came from behind Griffin, and a fifth SkyWing rose out from the bush, looking closely at Griffin.

Griffin took a step back and gulped. "We don't mean any trouble!" he explained. "Just looking for food!"

A few of the SkyWings gave gasps of amazement. "It can talk?" one asked quietly. Griffin winced, having momentarily forgotten that a talking gryphon wasn't exactly considered normal in Pyrrhia.

The fifth SkyWing stepped closer to Griffin, a dragon a few years older than Torrent, with red and orange scales covering her body. She took a curious look at him while he stood as still as the statue he was enchanted from. When she was finally done sniffing him up and down, she took a step back. "We'll take them back to Bobcat, and have her decide what to do with them," she ordered the others.

Griffin shuddered, and folded his wings inwards, drawing another gasp of amazement from the SkyWings. Was this a guard patrol for Queen Scarlet? They didn't look like guards, but he hadn't ever seen SkyWing guards before. He glanced over at Schist, but the MudWing looked just as confused and frightened as he was.

The SkyWings marched the two to wherever their destination was. Griffin didn't even think about trying to resist. The two together couldn't take on five scavengers in this state, much less five fully-grown dragons. When they finally reached their destination, the sun had set, and the moons (only two of which were visible at the moment) lit up the sky.

The SkyWings looked like they had taken them to a small village on the side of a mountain. Small houses of wood and stone littered the gentle slope they rested on, as if they had been dropped from above and landed at whatever place and angle they pleased. Further up the slope were fields of tilled crops, and herds of grazing yaks and mountain goats. Terraces had been built into the sides, where stalks of corn grew up.

Griffin looked further up. A couple of SkyWings were flying in the airspace above, traveling to and from the village to the farms surrounding it. The mountain itself raised high above the village, capped by snow at the top. More mountains flanked either side of it, forming the northernmost tip of the Claws of the Clouds.

The SkyWings led Schist and Griffin into the village. The two walked through narrow pathways, the houses on either side of them, as SkyWings looked on. Various dragons of warm hues poked their heads out from the houses, staring as the two visitors trudged past. Most of these dragons had never seen a MudWing in their lives, except for the few who had visited Queen Scarlet's infamous arena, and certainly none of them had ever seen a gryphon before.

The seven continued through the village until they reached a large building at the village's very edge, pushed up against the mountain-side as if the mountain was slowly pulling the building into itself. This building was much different than the rest of the village: although it retained the distinctive cubical shapes of the houses around it, it had multiple distinct stories, and roofs were curved instead of flat. It looked extremely old, and chunks of rubble or shingles that had fallen from it littered the ground, forcing Griffin to step around them. A narrow stone staircase was visible in the back of the building, carved around the mountain. It wrapped around the stone until it reached a small landing pad half cut into the stone. A golden-orange SkyWing took off from the platform, glancing curiously at the visitors before quickly flying off to do whatever his business was.

"This way," the SkyWing in change said to Schist and Griffin, looking at them warily. "Don't try anything funny." She didn't seem to perceive either of them as too much of a threat, though Griffin didn't blame her. Schist was limping visibly, and it was very evident he was still injured. Griffin was just too small to pose a threat to a full-grown SkyWing, although if he was quick, he might be able to escape.

The SkyWing opened up one of the doors to the building, and beckoned the two in before following after them. None of the others followed. The doors opened up to a narrow hallway, barely large enough for Schist to walk through. Wooden floorboards creaked beneath underneath them as they walked, definitely a fire hazard, especially around SkyWings. Griffin was surprised the building had lasted so long with all this wood throughout it, although so deep into the Sky Kingdom the village would be nowhere near the vicious battles that plagued much of the rest of Pyrrhia.

"Turn left here," the SkyWing ordered the two. Schist complied, and turned left to see a old wooden door. He opened it, and walked into the room it led into. Griffin and the SkyWing followed.

The room appeared to be a quaint study of some sort. Scrollshelves lined the walls, and in the center of the room there was a large desk with neatly placed scrolls on its surface. An elderly SkyWing sat behind the desk, using the light from a singular candle to read the scrolls. She looked up, and frowned. "Kite, who are these?" she asked, in a long, rasping voice. Her fragile wings were folded in, huddled around her body.

"We found them out while on a patrol," Kate explained, her voice stiff and emotionless. "I'm pretty sure the brown one is a MudWing. I don't know what the other one is, but it can talk. Some type of sorcery, I presume."

The SkyWing stood up, and slowly staggered over to the two. She scanned Schist up and down as he nervously squirmed. She looked at his scorched and fused scales with a frown, then turned to Griffin, lowering her head down to Griffin's level. A hint of surprised crossed over her face. "Are you a gryphon?" she said curiously.

"Yes," Griffin replied with a slight air of annoyance. He didn't particularly want to explain it again.

The SkyWing nodded, then took a step back and smiled. "I am Bobcat. This dragon here," she pointed to the younger SkyWing, "is Kite, my granddaughter."  
" _Great-_ granddaughter," Kite corrected. Bobcat nodded in response, then looked at Schist and Griffin expectantly.

It took a moment before Schist realized what she wanted. "I'm Schist," he introduced himself, "and that's Griffin. His name."

Bobcat nodded. "We haven't had a MudWing up here in a _very_ , very long time," she commented, "and barring the statue not too far from here, I don't think we've ever had a gryphon." She looked at Schist again, this time craning her neck to see his scarred scales. "I take it you had an encounter with Magma?" she said sadly.

"Magma?" Schist wondered. "Does she have scales which can burn on touch?"

"Yes," Bobcat answered. "Her sister lives in the village. We attempted to do the . . . normal thing with her when she was born, but a SandWing traveler convinced us to let her take the dragonet instead. She came back around fifteen years ago, and after killing a few unfortunate SkyWings, has lived in a cave to the southwest since. I wasn't even sure she was still alive."

"Not anymore," Griffin explained. "We, er, stopped her."

Both Bobcat and Kite looked at Griffin and Schist in amazement. "How?" Kite asked with a hint of skepticism.

"It was Griffin," Schist responded. "He used an enchanted dagger to turn her to stone."  
Griffin nodded. "We still have the statue of her if you . . . want it back." Neither Torrent nor Schist had wanted to keep the statue around (Torrent thought it was an extremely creepy reminder of Orca's statues), but Griffin had convinced them to store it a side-cave where it wouldn't be seen, just in case it ever came in handy.

Bobcat though for a moment, closing her eyes. "Then why are you here? It can't be pleasant for a MudWing; this cold out here."

"No," Schist replied, "but I don't know how well I can fly anymore, and we have a friend who's in a coma. She's being taken care of by another one of our friends, back in the SkyWi — Magma's cave. We need food and water, and it would really help us out if you could spare some."

The elderly SkyWing pondered Schist's request for a moment. She looked over towards Griffin, her eyes staring uncomfortably into his. "Yes," she finally answered, "but in return, I would like it if you helped out on the fields every so often until you're ready to leave. If you're worried you can't fly, it should help you get back up to strength."

Schist frowned. Hadn't they already done enough, getting rid of the dragon who had murdered some of the SkyWings here? "I mean — "

"Of course!" Griffin interrupted in relief. "I'm sure Torrent can take care of Crystal on his own, and it's not like we have anything else to do."

Bobcat smiled gently. "Then it's settled. I'm sure some of the other SkyWings will be interested to meet you. I'll have Kite help bring your supplies back to your other friends."


	39. Chapter 38

"Hello, Crystal," an voice yawned, with a hint of boredom pulsing through it. It sent a shiver down her spine, as if someone had dragged a screeching piece of ice along her scales.

Crystal tried to remember what was happening, squinting her eyes. Everything was blurry. She'd gone to the Sky Kingdom, there was a fight with a SkyWing, Schist had gotten injured. She'd used the Darkstone to enchant a diamond that would save him. Had it worked? She wasn't sure, using the Darkstone was the last thing she could remember.

As her vision started to clear up, Crystal looked around at her surroundings. She was still in a cave, but it was nothing the SkyWing animus's cave. A shimmering, ice-like quartz covered the walls of the chamber, and small purple specks like stars covered the ceiling of the chamber, placed seemingly randomly. It reminded her of some of the caverns in the northern Sand Kingdom she'd visited with her father, except with a blinding intensity.

 _Where am I?_ she thought in worry. Did using the Darkstone kill her? Was she with the Great Ice Dragon now? If this was the northern Sand Kingdom, how else could she have gotten to the Sand Kingdom anyways? Where were Torrent, Griffin, and Schist? Her head hurt, as if there was something stuck in her skull beneath her horns.

"Your allies aren't here," the voice spoke again. Crystal whipped around, lashing her sharp tail out. Behind her stood — no, floated — a shimmering figure of a MudWing, maybe five or so years older than Crystal herself. It was difficult to tell, his transparent appearance didn't seem fully static. He had a tired look on his face, as if he had forgotten to sleep the night before, and his wings were folded inwards. At first, his eyes appeared to be differently colored, one a light-blue, and the other a golden-brown, but the mismatched pupil size and an unusual wobble revealed to Crystal that the latter was glass. "You're not dead, if that's what you're wondering. You're dreaming."

"What?" Crystal asked in confusion. She waved a claw back and forth within the air. It sure felt real. Cold air brushed up against her scales. She peered behind the floating MudWing. Across a long platform of the same quartz-like material that the walls were made from, the preserved corpse of a young NightWing stood solidified, fully encased by the frostbreath of an IceWing, a frozen layer completely covering his faded body. He stood on his hind legs, his wings and forearms trapped within a contorted position, as if he was trying to tear himself apart.

"His name was Starweaver," the MudWing explained, pointing a talon at the NightWing. He had floated, bobbing up and down, to the other side of Crystal. "He was killed by an IceWing princess, in a heroic, but futile act of self-sacrifice."

"Why?" Crystal asked, looking around again, still confused. If this was a dream, could she get up? Crystal closed her eyes, and tried to envision waking up.

"Please don't," the MudWing replied, evidently able to tell that she was trying to get out of the dream, "I'm not able to talk to you very well from here. The IceWing princess was trying to do the right thing when she killed Starweaver. It didn't work. Everyone she wanted to save died regardless."

Crystal frowned, and stared at the MudWing. "Is this some kind of dream lesson?" she asked. "Because I'm not giving Queen Glacier back the Darkstone, if that's what you're asking. I know that war will continue if I don't, and MudWings will die anyways, but I'm not letting her destroy an entire subspecies of dragons."

The floating MudWing frowned for a moment, flicking a tongue out of his mouth. He twirled a talon in the air, thinking. "Oh," he finally responded, "sorry, it's been a while since we've talked, and I'm still really tired. No, that's not what I meant. You're right, but _all_ the MudWings will die anyways, not that it matters, you're still on the right course. But whether or not a few MudWings will die just twenty to a thousand years earlier is besides the point. This is just an introduction meeting. Do you know where you are?"

Crystal glanced around quickly. "Somewhere in the darkstone mines south of the Ice Kingdom?" she asked. She frowned. "I shouldn't have told you that. Why did I tell you that?"

The MudWing smiled. "You used the Darkstone, remember? Unfortunately, you're not compatible with it, so it's taking a toll on your body. But that's alright, that's how I can talk to you. You won't be able to use it again though." The ghostly MudWing shook his wings, the light bending through them. His eyes opened slightly, more alert. "My name is Calamity. You don't need to introduce yourself."

"What?" Crystal asked, confused. Suddenly, she felt rumbling in the ground beneath her. She cried out as the pressure in the back of her skull grew.

Calamity frowned. "I need to go now. I can't talk to you very long, sorry. This will just be a bad dream, alright?"

A large crack appeared between Crystal's legs, and quickly opened wide. Crystal latched her front and hind claws on to each side, but as the chasm grew and stretched out her limbs, she was forced to let go, trying to dig her talons into the walls. As Crystal started to slide down, she glanced up. Calamity, still floating just above the ground, waved his claws goodbye towards Crystal with a smile. "See you!"

Crystal spread out her wings as the crack continued to open wide beneath her, and tried to fly upwards, but it was no use. She felt no resistance from the air, and continued to fall into the chasm. "Help!" Crystal yelled out in alarm. The line of light above her continued to shrink, Calamity's waving paw becoming smaller and smaller.

* * *

Torrent grumbled in boredom, rolling the scroll back and forth across the cave floor, the scroll scuttling around pebbles as it rolled. Torrent bounced it back and forth between his claws. Whatever Schist and Griffin were doing right now, it had to be more interesting than this.

Schist and Griffin had returned to the cave about a week ago, bringing along some SkyWing. After being gone an entire day, Torrent was worried they had been captured at first, but Griffin had explained the situation — the SkyWing, Kite, had taken them back to her village and had given them food and water in exchange for them helping out. Torrent had shown her the statue of Magma they had hidden, but she had left without a word. Griffin and Schist had followed, telling Torrent that they'd come back to visit him and Crystal in a fortnight or so, and would return with more supplies. He didn't blame them: Schist was still unable to fly, so it took the whole of a day to get to and back from the village. Still, it wouldn't have taken Griffin alone that long to visit at least once.

He poked into the stores of food Kite had brought them. Salted goat, again. That was all that was in there. It had been interesting the first few times, but what he wouldn't do for a nice fresh salmon or tuna right now. He missed the cuisine of the Sea Kingdom dearly, and the next chance he got, he would make sure to share it with Schist and Crystal. He didn't know about MudWings, but apparently IceWings were also fish-eaters.

Torrent turned to Crystal. Still asleep; holding the diamond she had enchanted. He grimaced a little in worry. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything. Torrent knew IceWings could go much longer than most of the other tribes without food and water (barring SandWings, of course), but it had been almost a month since she had been given anything. The healing diamond was probably the only thing keeping her alive, but after what had happened to Schist, Torrent didn't have much faith in it. He nervously turned back to the scroll, which had slipped from his talons and rolled open across the cave. He glanced at it, reading a segment:

 _Erosion decided to instruct me in animus powers today! Oh, I am so excited, this was the best day of my entire life! The first thing she did was give me some warnings, and forced me to write them down in this scroll. One, do not use animus magic for trivial necessities: too much use of animus magic can be dangerous for the mind and soul. Two, make your enchantments simple and precise: the magic can occasionally interpret what you intend if you say something vague, but clarity in your enchantments is less risky. While you are using, always speak your enchantments._

Magic figuring out what the user intended? Torrent thought about this for a moment. He hadn't heard of this before in any of his scrolls, although he supposed it made sense. Although Orca had always said her enchantments out-loud, albeit underwater, Torrent knew that some of the historical animus dragons had used their minds to enchant, and he recalled at least one ancient SeaWing who even enchanted in Aquatic. And in the Talons of Power ceremony, prospective animus dragonets were ordered to just tell their coconuts to move, not explicitly enchant them.

 _Three, the magic I have given you is a gift. Do not use it against my wishes, ever, or I shall take it away permanently. Four, do not make conflicting enchantments: in this case, only one of them will usually win out, and it will cause erratic behaviour. Five, do not overexert your magic: using magic is like flying, fly too far and you'll be too tired to fly the next day. Use too much magic or create a larger enchantment than what you're used to, and the effects will take a physical and mental strain. Six, do not try to bring back the dead using your magic. This is impossible, and wi —_

Suddenly, Torrent heard a quiet groan a short distance away. He quickly whipped his horns around to face Crystal. She was moving, just barely, and one of her eyelids slid open. She shook a little.

"Crystal!" Torrent shouted in surprise. "You're awake."

Crystal didn't respond. She tried half-heartedly to lift herself up, but had nowhere near enough strength. She grumbled something out quietly to Torrent.

"What?" Torrent asked in concern, walking closer.

"S-schist?" Crystal mumbled, her one open eye fluttering closed.

"He's fine," Torrent explained quickly, "you saved him, you did it!"

Crystal's head might have shaken a little as a response, but Torrent couldn't tell. She opened her mouth. "Wa-ater," she gasped. Torrent noticed she had dropped the enchanted diamond when she awoke.

"Yes, yes!" Torrent shouted, scrambling to get her water. He grabbed one of the leather bags Kite had brought to him, filled with clean water, and dragged it over to Crystal. He opened it up and placed it in front of her snout. She extended a long blue tongue, and tried to lap up the water, every motion an effort for her.

While Crystal was drinking, Torrent grabbed one of the bags of salted goat meat and pulled a few strips out. Tearing them into little pieces so that she wouldn't choke, the SeaWing placed them right beside the water. "You need to eat something," he said.

As soon as she was done drinking, Crystal complied, moving her snout towards the goat meat and voraciously swallowing it down. Torrent waited for her to finish. He glanced over at the Darkstone beside her. He had thought about just throwing it off a mountainside, hopefully never to be found again, but had decided not to. He had no idea how it worked, and was worried that doing something to it could have some negative effect on Crystal while she was in her coma.

The moment the IceWing was done eating, Torrent started to question her. "Crystal, the Darkstone. How does it work? Can we destroy it? Where di — "

Torrent stopped asking questions and grimaced. Crystal wasn't hearing any of them. She had fallen asleep again, her scaled chest gently rising and falling.

* * *

"She woke up?" Griffin asked, both surprise and excitement in his voice.

Torrent nodded. "Not for very long, and only once. It was about a week ago, and she hasn't gotten up since."

Schist peered in closer to Crystal. She was still asleep, the same as when he had last seen her. The healing jewel had been placed back within her claws by Torrent.

"Has she stirred since then?"

"A little," Torrent replied to Griffin. "There were a few times when she seemed a bit more awake than before. Just rustling a bit more."

"Ah," Griffin replied with an air of disappointment. Maybe this was a sign of her getting better, but maybe not. It could just be a random occurrence.

Kite looked around the cave with an emotionless stare. "There's a lot of gold in here," she commented. Much of it Torrent had returned to pebbles (it wasn't as if he had much else to do), but there were still specks of gold coins dotting the cave.

"Yes, there is," Torrent retorted, glaring at Kite suspiciously. "It's not real, if that's what you're asking. Magma enchanted it all from the pebbles, and I've trying to get rid of as much as possible."

"Take all you want!" Griffin offered. "We don't need any of it, and there's plenty!"

Torrent glared at Griffin. "If you want to take that risk, then you can," he snarled at Kite, "but I should warn you that animus dragons occasionally put curses on their treasure."

Kite gave Torrent a glance, and took a step back from the gold, weighing the options.

"It's fine," Griffin growled, talking to Kite, but locking his eyes with Torrent. "We've been around it for weeks, and no adverse side effects so far."

Torrent snorted. "Each of these coins was enchanted _individually_ , and the enchantments can't affect me anyways. Any one of these coins could be enchanted with some dreadful curse, just cause Magma was a little angry that day, maybe 'cause death and ruin to your family.' I'm immune to the enchantments, but I'd avoid touching too many if I were you."

Kite backed a little more away from the coins. "I'm good," she decided. Torrent cocked his head at Griffin with a triumphant smirk.

Griffin ruffled his feathers in annoyance. "Fine. We've delivered supplies, we can go now. Schist?"

The scarred MudWing turned to look at Griffin, before turning back to Crystal. He sighed. "Yeah, alright," he conceded, walking back towards Griffin, each step a limp.

Griffin flicked his furred tail in defiance, then walked towards the exit of the cave, Kite and Schist following him. Schist looked back at Torrent with a sorrowful gaze, as if he was trying to apologize for Griffin's rude exit.

After the three left, the cave was quiet again. Just Torrent and the sleeping Crystal remained. He sighed, and turned back to the piles of pebbles and rubble, enchanted gold scattered throughout them. He might as well try to get rid of some more, though it looked like it would still take an eternity.


	40. Chapter 39

A white flake landed on Torrent's snout, dissolving into a drop of water as soon as it landed. He frowned and brushed it away. As soon as he placed his claw down, another snowflake fell to take its place.

The SeaWing took a step outside of the cave's protection, placing a paw into the cold layer of snow. It collapsed under his weight, and his claws sunk a couple inches into the the ground. The white powder was bunched up against his cerulean scales, chilling them to a temperature that might be uncomfortable to other dragons, but not to a SeaWing born in the frigid depths of the ocean.

Torrent took another few steps out of the cave. Where he raised his claws, a print was left behind, with five deeper imprints from his talons, webbing spread between them. He looked out over the plateau nestled between the mountains raised above him. It was covered in a perfectly smooth layer of white snow. Further away from Torrent he could see patches of golden grasses, speckling the snow like a mottled cow.

At the far end of these was the usual pack of yaks, grazing on the dry grasses that had been left untouched. A variety of hoof prints and strangely rounded prints from the nearby scavengers were scattered around the ground in a sort of maze. A few of the scavengers glanced up at Torrent to keep an eye on him, but by this point, they seem to have decided the dragons residing in the nearby cave weren't too much of a threat. Torrent gave them a snarl, but they just continued on allowing their yaks to graze. He doubted yak or scavenger would taste much better than goat, but it might be a change.

A cold wind brushed against Torrent, carrying a white flurry into his face. He closed his eyes and turned his head to keep the snow out of them. He picked up a clawful of snow and returned back into the cave, melted water dripping between his talons.

Crystal was still asleep, splayed out on the edge of a hill of pebbles. Torrent took a glance at her claws, making sure the healing gem was still in there. It was. He walked over to her and sat down, resting his blue tail against the cold cave floor.

The clump of snow in his claws was slowly melting, the temperature difference in the cave too warm for it. Torrent placed it on Crystal's back. A rivulet of water dripped down her wing membrane. He doubted it would do much good, but it wouldn't hurt at least.

"I brought you some snow," the SeaWing grumbled. "You get that a lot in the Ice Kingdom, don't you? Just reminding you of home." He sighed as more water dripped down Crystal's wing membrane, forming a small puddle.

Torrent turned to Magma's scroll. He had decided to read it fully in the past week, after Griffin had left so suddenly. It was one of the worst scrolls he'd ever had to read, barring the four volumes of Whirlpool's autobiography, but it was better than nothing. He'd also gone over some of the notes he and Orca had written from the scrolls Mallard had given him. It felt like an eternity since that had happened.

Torrent wondered how Mallard was doing right now. Had she gotten caught for helping him escape? If she had, was she in prison? He hoped not, she didn't deserve that. Maybe if h —

Torrent suddenly heard some muttering. He turned to Crystal, unsure if he was just imagining it or not. He saw her jaw move.

"Crystal!" he said. "You're awake!"

One of eyes opened, and she raised her head slightly. "I know," she muttered. "Why is there snow on me?"

Torrent stiffened up and brushed the snowball off, throwing specks of snow across the room. "It helped wake you up!" he explained. "I think maybe it's because you're an IceWing, so maybe snow has healing properties?"

Crystal let out an exhausted snort, unimpressed with Torrent's discovery. "If snow had healing properties, we'd have won the war by now. I need some food and water."

Torrent nodded and grabbed the leather bag with water and the goat meat. He started tearing up pieces for Crystal, when she grabbed his talons and gave him a glare, pulling herself up. "I can chew," she snapped at the SeaWing.

Torrent nodded, and quickly gave Crystal the goat meat. She stuffed it into her mouth, quickly tearing it apart with her razor sharp teeth. While still chewing, she took the leather pouch of water and poured it into her mouth, almost ripping a hole in the bag. She continued eating and drinking like this for a while. Torrent noticed she had dropped the healing diamond, and grabbed it, along with the Darkstone. Crystal gave him a sideways look, suspicious, but didn't stop until she had gotten her fill.

When she was done, she turned to Torrent, and looked around the cavern. "Where are Schist and Griffin?" she asked, with a nervous look.

"They're both fine," Torrent reassured her. He didn't know how much she remembered from when she last woke up earlier. "Alive. You're not planning to go back to sleep again, are you?"

Crystal looked at Torrent with a confused smirk. "Believe me, I don't ever want to go to sleep again. How long was I out?"

Torrent thought for a moment. He hadn't really bothered to count the days. Since the Deep Palace was far enough beneath the waves that the time of day didn't make much of a difference, counting days wasn't too important to the Sea Kingdom. They had a royal astronomer in the Deep Palace, who, in addition to keeping track of the moons, the seasons, the tides, and the undersea current flows, usually created a calendar for the Sea Kingdom, but keeping track of the exact day wasn't all that important, except for when it came to meetings.

"Fifty days, maybe?" Torrent replied uncertainly. "Maybe more or less?"

Crystal gritted her teeth and winced. Fifty days. That was long. Much longer than she had thought. She tried to think back to her sleep, but her memories pulled up blank. "Well, it's not like I'm missing anything," she snorted. "Maybe Queen Glacier will have given up on finding me by now." She looked at Torrent quizzically. "What happened?"

Torrent craned his neck from side to side. "Not much," he answered. "I've just been here, while Schist and Griffin have been helping prepare for winter at some nearby village."

"No, fishbrain," Crystal laughed, "I meant, what happened to me. Why I was out for two months?"

"Oh," Torrent said. "Something similar happened to Orca after she enchanted Griffin."

"She was asleep for two months?" asked Crystal skeptically. "And no one suspected anything weird was going on?"

Torrent shook his head. "No, only half an hour, although she was really sick for the next few days. I've read a couple scrolls which have said something similar about other animuses." He glanced over to Magma's scroll, then back to Crystal. "Use too much magic or create a larger enchantment than what you're used to, and the effects will take a physical and mental strain," he repeated.

Crystal nodded, thinking. "And being a non-animus dragon who had never enchanted anything before, creating something to heal others was far too much for my mind and body. Wait. Then how did we, I mean, the IceWings animuses, create the gifts if they had never used their magic before?"

Torrent snorted. "Really?" he asked. "You believe that they'd never used their magic outside of the gifts? Of course they did, they just were never caught, and used magic sparingly enough it never had much of an effect on their souls."

"Fine," Crystal frowned, clearly a little uncomfortable with the prospect of her kingdom's glorified legends being false. "Even then, it's still a large change from one or two tiny enchantments to the Great Ice Cliff."

Torrent thought a little for a moment. "They probably made the enchantments slowly. Like when Frostbite made the Gift of Light, or Albatross created the Summer Palace."

Crystal was slightly impressed. The Gift of Light wasn't well-known except to the IceWings and the SandWing border towns, and the name of the dragon who created the tree even less so. "The Summer Palace?" she asked. "Is that a SeaWing gift?"

"Sort of," Torrent responded. "It's a large palace that one of our animus dragons, Albatross, made. It's very . . . aesthetic. It would probably be a little more so if Albatross hadn't murdered most of the royal family after he'd made it."

Crystal nodded, then looked back at where she had been sleeping. The Darkstone was there, a couple feet away.

"Can you still . . ." Torrent waved his claws around in a circle. Crystal looked at him with a puzzled expression. ". . . er, use magic?" Torrent asked worriedly.

Crystal thought for a moment. "I doubt it." She turned to Torrent's scrollcase. "Scrollcase, I enchant you to vibrate for a minute!" she ordered. Nothing happened.

A nervous look passed over Torrent, and he laid a claw on Crystal's scales, ready to steady her if she fainted again. After it was clear the enchantment hadn't worked, he let go.

"The Darkstone," Torrent said as he walked over to it, picking it up. He nestled it in his claws' webbing, looking at the ethereal glint in it. "You said you got it from the IceWings. How? Is there more where it came from?"

Crystal shook her head. "Don't worry, this is the only one. It took years to purify enough of the mineral to make this, and it will be quite a while before the IceWings can manage to make more, and that's just before they start testing and using it. It knocked me out for two months to create a healing stone; I doubt creating something major would be possible for much longer."

That didn't assuage Torrent's concerns. "How long is 'quite a while?'" he asked.

Crystal thought for a moment. "Ten years? Now that my father is dead, it'll make it a lot harder for them to purify the mineral. He and I were the only ones who knew the best method. So five years, at least, probably ten. And that's not including the time to test it out."

Torrent closed his eyes. Ten years. That was longer than he'd been alive. He was, what, six now? Seven? By the time the IceWings could create another Darkstone, dragonets still in their eggs would be adults. Coral's daughter, one in which Torrent didn't know her name, might even be queen. "And by then, the war would be over," Torrent predicted. "The IceWings would have no reason to use the Darkstone as a weapon."

"Maybe," Crystal replied. "Maybe a new war could have started. Me stealing the Darkstone was only a temporary solution to the problem."

Torrent nodded in agreement. He looked at Crystal, straight in her black, beady eyes. "You do understand how awful it would be if the IceWings got animus dragons, right? If _Queen Glacier_ became an animus?"

"Of course," Crystal scornfully answered. "Do you think I would have fled the Ice Kingdom if I hadn't?"

Torrent tapped one of his claws on the cave floor. "How did you steal it, anyways?" he asked curiously. "I'd think something like that would be under guard at all times."

Crystal sighed, with a slight wince. This wasn't something she particularly wanted other dragons to hear. "I mentioned to you that my father, Boreal, was a scientist, and had accidentally discovered the mineral which the Darkstone is made from. I was apprenticed to him; he was to teach me the scientific knowledge in the Gift of Wisdom, and I was to serve as his assistant."

"You served as an apprentice to your father?" Torrent asked. "That seems like it would get annoying, real quickly."

Crystal shook her head. "No. It's a normal thing in the Ice Kingdom: parents usually train their dragonets in whatever their practice is. It makes sense a lot of the time; the parents are able to start the training as soon as the hatchling breaks the eggshell, although not every dragonet wants to continue their parent's legacy." She thought of her sister, Clarity. Rebellious was one word to describe her. "Boreal wasn't a particularly . . . affectionate father, either. He was too busy serving the queen to take care of us. By no means was he an awful parent, believe me, plenty of IceWings resent their children, but Clarity and I were mostly ignored. After I had come of age to start my apprenticeship, he took me under his wing and decided to teach me in his art."

"His art?" Torrent asked.

"He was a scientist. An inventor, as he liked to describe himself. He was the one who discovered the minerals that we used to create the Darkstone, and led the project because of it. After Queen Glacier found out what he was doing, and he convinced her he could bring animus magic back to the IceWings, she placed him on her council, the Empty Circle. He would bring me to the meetings, which is how I found out about their plans for the Darkstone.

"Originally, the council was enthusiastic over the prospects of having Gifts again, but as the war went on, with no sign of stopping, they decided it would be better suited as a weapon. A few months ago, the council held a vote and decided that if the war was still going on, the first thing they would enchant with the Darkstone would be a weapon to destroy the MudWing army. I believe the exact words would have been 'enchant this spear so that any physical effects it causes on a MudWing soldier are caused on all soldiers.' Effectively, if they killed one soldier with the spear, it would kill all MudWing soldiers."  
"Wait," interrupted Torrent in alarm, "but the MudWings have a draft. Almost every MudWing in the kingdom older than four — "

" — would be killed," Crystal finished. "I know. And none of them seemed to have any problem with that. 'It's war, there are no rules. We'll be able to save thousands of IceWing lives this way.' It's what Queen Glacier told me when I spoke up during the council. Boreal didn't care what they were going to use the Darkstone for, so he abstained from the vote, and continued to work on it.

"Over the next few months, I did what I could to slow down my father. Occasionally we'd have important tools go missing, or test subjects who suddenly decided they didn't want to be tested on, but it wasn't enough. He eventually finished the Darkstone, and we found a loyal IceWing who was willing to sacrifice his life for Project Darkstone, as we called it. So, I did what I had to do. I stole the finished Darkstone, destroyed the lab, and killed both the test subject and Boreal."

"You killed your _father_?" Torrent exclaimed in horror.

Crystal fidgeted nervously. "I had to, for the sake of Pyrrhia. If I hadn't, they'd have started on another Darkstone as soon as I would've left. Maybe two years before the MudWings would be obliterated."

"Yeah, but he was your father!"

"So?" Crystal growled defensively. "He was just as guilty as the rest of them! He knew what they were going to do with it, and still worked freely! If your sister was going to destroy a tribe with her magic, you'd have killed her too, right?"

Torrent looked down, clenching his snout. Orca had given him that choice. She'd given him the dagger, and had told him to kill her, but he hadn't chosen to. Sure, she hadn't killed anyone else in the end, but what if she'd beaten Coral, and decided to destroy the SkyWings as her next target? It could have happened; maybe Torrent was just lucky. But, even if he had known that, he still didn't think he could bring himself to kill her. "No," he muttered.

"Well, then you're wrong," Crystal snapped. "Letting an entire tribe die for the sake of one dragon, that's just _selfish_."

Torrent slowly nodded in agreement. Crystal was right. Maybe now, he'd be stronger. He'd be able to kill Orca, if it had come to that. "So, then what?"

"After taking the Darkstone, I fled to my sister, Clarity," Crystal continued. "She helped me out of the Ice Kingdom, and told me about a SkyWing friend who lives by the SandWing-SkyWing border. I went to see her, and she told me how to get across the Sky Kingdom, to where I met you." Crystal made a face of disgust while mentioning Avalanche. "After hearing about your dagger, I decided to join you. If it can disenchant animus magic, maybe it can destroy the Darkstone."

Torrent nodded. He had thought about that, too, but hadn't wanted to try it while Crystal was asleep, since it was possible that disenchanting it could somehow harm its user. "Do you want to try that now?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah!" Crystal replied in surprise. She had expected Torrent to have tried it already while she was asleep. Why hadn't he?

Torrent used a claw to roll the Darkstone between his webbing, nestling it in between his talons. With his left claws, he took out his dagger from its sheath, and brought it to his other forepaw. Crystal opened her mouth, as if to say something to Torrent, but didn't make a sound. Torrent gently pressed the dagger's tip onto the Darkstone and rubbed the emerald on its hilt. He waited a moment, then put his dagger away.

"I don't think it worked," Torrent claimed.

"Why?" Crystal wondered, sticking her snout towards the Darkstone to peer closer at it.

"There's a weird light in it that shines on its own," Torrent explained. "It's still there. If it had been disenchanted, then I think the light would have faded."

Crystal frowned, unconvinced. She picked the Darkstone out of Torrent's claws, and rubbed it on her wing membrane. She closed her eyes, in thought.

"Er, what are you d — "

"Quiet," Crystal interrupted Torrent. He shut his mouth, and she continued dragging the stone along her wing membrane. After doing this for a while, she stopped, and her beady eyes fluttered open. "You're right, I don't think it worked. It gave me a faint tingly feeling when I touched it before, and that's still there."

Torrent grumbled in frustration. "So, how else can we get rid of it? We could drop it into the ocean or into the MudWing swamps, no one could find it there."

"Maybe," Crystal replied, "but maybe not. I think I should just keep it with me; it's safer than risking someone finding it."

Torrent thought for a moment, and starting pacing back and forth around the room. He wanted to trust Crystal, but the risk was large. "Okay," he agreed, "but don't try to use it, and keep it in your bag; don't wear it."

"Fine," Crystal said as she furrowed the scales above her eyes. _Does he think this is his choice?_ She took the Darkstone and placed it in her leather bag, tucking it and rendering the gem unseen. The IceWing then took a step towards the exit of the cave, and stretched out her wings, her muscles slowly loosening up. "Let's see how hard it is to fly after two months of sleeping, shall we?"


	41. Chapter 40

"Yak! Where are you?" Schist called out.

Griffin gave the MudWing a skeptical look, before looking down back at his talons to make sure they weren't too close to the edge of the terrace. "I don't think that's going to help," Griffin explained, "yaks can't speak."

Schist sighed. Today, the two had been given the job of bringing the yaks down to the plateau to graze, then back up again. It seemed like an easy job, but keeping a ton of rambunctious yaks in line was harder than it appeared. One of the calves had gone missing, and it was up to Schist and Griffin to find it again, while Kite stood down below, watching over the rest of the herd as they grazed.

"It could help draw it to us," Schist suggested. "I could've sworn I saw it in the area while we were flying!"

Griffin nodded uncertainly, and rustled his feathers. Schist seemed like he had adjusted to the cold climate and high altitude by now, which was just as well with the winter approaching fast. The first snow had arrived about a week ago, and it meant there would be many more to come. Griffin could see small piles of white slush scattered around the terraces, lined on the dark backs of the terrace walls. Griffin had heard about snow before, but had never seen it, of course.

Schist was the same, it was Crystal who had told him all about snow earlier. As soon as it started falling from above, he ran around in fascination like a dragonet, much to the humor of the other SkyWings around. Even when he and Griffin were put to the task of getting snow off a few of the dirt walkways in the village, Schist's glee didn't falter.

At the moment, the two were far above the village, searching for the calf in the terrace farms placed on the mountainside. The now dirt-brown terraces were the strangest thing to Griffin: he had neither heard nor read of them before. They covered a large portion of the lower mountainside, like a giant staircase. Each step consisted of the sloped mountainside made flat, and during the rest of the year, green crops would be growing along the flat surface. At the back of each step stood a sturdy stone wall, which Griffin and Schist had occasionally helped repair. A small dirt pathway snaked between the terraces and up the mountain, more for the yaks' usage than the dragons.

Schist had once suggested flying the yaks up and down instead of leading them, but had gotten a laugh in response. One of the SkyWings suggested that Schist attempt to carry one of the yaks. When Schist had tried, the yak constantly attempted to struggle free, causing Schist to almost drop it as soon as he rose into the air. The yak was scared, but unharmed from its short flight, and Schist decided flying the yaks was not a good idea.

"Over there!" Schist suddenly shouted, pointing to a small calf, not too far away. The two rose into the air, Schist beating his wings in a fragile flight. He could fly now, but only for short periods of time before it became too painful to bear. He doubted he could make it out of the Sky Kingdom before winter completely hit, and trying to fly out of the mountains through the winter was too much for most SkyWings to handle, much less a MudWing. Chances are, the four would have to stay in the Sky Kingdom until spring.

Griffin and Schist landed on the edge of a terrace, where the whining yak calf stood, looking over the edge. Griffin shooed the calf towards the dirt path, and they slowly led it down towards the grazing fields, facing the village far beneath them.

"So, do you want to visit Torrent soon?" Schist asked Griffin. "It's been over two weeks since we last saw him, and the snow hit."

Griffin tossed his feathered neck back and forth. "Maybe," he muttered. Schist gave him an expectant glance, and Griffin continued. "He's just been so argumentative since Orca di — since we left the Sea Kingdom. Can't he just move on?"

"He's not just going to move on," Schist answered, nudging Griffin with a wing. "Maybe you're no longer grieving for her, but he still is."

"But when will he just stop? She's dead, and nothing can change that."

A sad expression crossed Schist's face for a moment. "I don't really think he'll ever stop."

Griffin clacked his beak, and turned to the side for a moment. He swiveled his head back around to face Schist. "What's with you dragons and this whole grieving thing?"

"You dragons?" Schist asked with a slight expression of confusion. "You're not a dragon?"

Griffin gave a squawk in confusion. "What do you mean, 'you're not a dragon?' I have a beak and feathers, _clearly_ I'm not a dragon. Did Orca enchantment me to appear as a dragon without telling me?"

"No, no," Schist reassured Griffin, "I mean, you're definitely a gryphon. But you were raised as a SeaWing with a SeaWing family and all, so shouldn't you be considered to be a SeaWing? SeaWings grieve, right, not just MudWings?"

Griffin gave Schist a look of skepticism. "If by 'raised as a SeaWing with a SeaWing family' you mean Orca and Torrent locking me in a room to hide me from their family, then sure. Maybe SeaWings grieve, but I don't. I'm _not_ a dragon."

Schist swished his tail from side to side, making sure not to excessively move the scales on the right side of his body. "I think Torrent is scared what happened to Orca will happen again."

"Yes, that's pretty clear," Griffin impatiently replied.

"Maybe he's worried for Crystal too," Schist suggested.

Griffin nodded, and led the calf towards the grazing fields. This really wasn't going anywhere. "Yeah," he acknowledged with a sigh.

The two finally reached the fields, watching the runaway calf closely. Kite was there, waiting impatiently for Griffin and Schist. The rest of the yaks were grazing calmly on the field, and the small one quickly ran into the group unnoticed.

As the yaks continued to graze, Kite waited silently, standing to the side with a rigid face. Schist trotted up to her, and sat down next to her. She gave him a glare. "Do you want something?"

"No, no, not at all!" Schist replied. "It's just . . . quiet here."

"Yes," Kite replied with satisfaction. "It is."

Schist fidgeted from side to side uncomfortably, some the scales on his right side poking into his flesh. "Does Queen Scarlet not have a draft?" he asked curiously. "I would have thought you'd be in her army."

"She does," Kite replied straightforwardly, "but she hasn't started drafting the SkyWings in the north-eastern part of the Claws yet."

"Claws?"

"Claws of the Clouds," Kite explained. "The mountain range we live in. The crown generally avoids dealing too much with us and the other villages around us. It's cold and high up, and the treaty we signed when they conquered us gives us a lot of choice on how we run the place. And long as we give her taxes and don't rebel, Queen Scarlet has let us be, for now."

"Conquered?" Schist asked.

Kite nodded. "Around a hundred years ago, there was a large rebellion, and the entire area took up arms and broke away from the Sky Kingdom. We lasted on our own for a few decades, but eventually the Sky Kingdom decided they wanted us back, and beat our army at Aeolus, a town to the east of us at the base of the Claws. In return for surrendering, the queen at the time let us choose our own rules and such. But if this war goes on any longer, Queen Scarlet might decide she needs more troops, and draft us."

"Oh, I hope that doesn't happen. The war should be over soon, though, right?"

Kite curled her wings in. "Maybe. I can fight anyways. If she decides to draft me, I'll survive. Maybe take out a few MudWings, too. No offense. You're not a _bad_ MudWing."

"None taken," Schist muttered squeamishly. _What does she mean by 'not a bad MudWing?'_ he wondered with a frown. A speckle of snow landed on his snout, and the scarred MudWing looked up. Grey clouds were looming, and snow started to fall. Winter had arrived in the Sky Kingdom.

"Come one," Kite ordered, "we need to get these yaks back to the stables before the storm arrives." She lashed her tail onto the ground, and called something out to the yaks. They turned their horned heads to the SkyWing, and started following her as she walked back towards the mountain's base. Schist and Griffin stayed behind the herd, making sure no calves escaped this time.

Griffin glanced at Schist, and caught up to him, walking quickly, at a dragon's speed. "Er, Schist," he remarked, "so, you know how you were asking me if I considered myself a SeaWing, and I told you I was a gryphon?"

"Yeah?"

Griffin sighed. "Well, I don't really know how true that is. I'm not really a gryphon, am I? Gryphons probably aren't even real, and even if they are, I'm not one. I'm a piece of stone that Orca asked to move on its own."

Schist nodded, and opened his jaws to say reply, when another dragon interrupted him.

"If it's any consolation, you're not the only one," Crystal replied, as she landed herself next to the two. She steadied herself, as she stumbled forwards, out of breath. "Wow, that was a lot harder than I remember," she muttered to herself.

Torrent landed behind her with a cautious look, wondering if Crystal should have waited a little more before making such a long flight.

"Crystal?" Griffin stammered in surprise. _She's awake?_

Schist sprinted over to Crystal and nuzzled her with his snout. "You're okay!" he shouted in glee, momentarily forgetting about his burnt scales.

Crystal smiled. "If you poke a recently dead dragon in the head the right way, it'll move around for you," she explained to Griffin. "Ever tried it?"

Griffin shook his head in response, spraying small snowflakes that had gathered and melted there off. "When did you wake up?"

"A bit over a week ago," Crystal replied. "We were going to wait for you to return, but I decided I had recovered enough, and flew over here with Torrent."

Torrent nodded, as if he was confirming Crystal's story.

The IceWing peered over at Schist, and looked at his fused scales in shame. "I'm sorry," she replied with a grimace.

"What for?" Schist replied, brushing it off with a smile. "It's not your fault, it was Magma who did it."

Crystal nodded solemnly. "I know, but if I had just enchanted the diamond more specifically . . ."

"It's fine," Schist lied, "just some battle scars, nothing to worry about."

Crystal bobbed her head and dug a claw into the ground. 'Just some battle scars' was quite an understatement. Torrent had gotten 'battle scars,' but the distorted, discolored scales on his snout and neck were nothing compared to the mess covering half of Schist's body.

"Alright," Crystal acknowledged the MudWing. She glanced up at the snowflakes, now falling quicker. "You said you wanted to see what the Ice Kingdom looked like," she said, turning to Schist. "Depending on how much snow we get, it looks like you might have the chance. No deadly cliff to cross either!"


	42. Chapter 41

Winter was long, cold, and dark, but that was nothing to an IceWing like Crystal. Instead of staying in Magma's cave, the four stayed in the small SkyWing village during the winter, in a tiny, poorly-insulated hut only marginally larger. One of the SkyWings lit a fire for the four to stay warm in the corner on most days. Schist was slightly wary of the fire, for good reason, and would safely away from it, where Griffin would occasionally give him company. Torrent usually lay by the fire, even though he didn't particularly need it — SeaWings could handle the frigid waters beneath the ocean, a windy chill was bearable.

Crystal, on the other claw, spent a lot of her time outside the house. The SkyWings were all happy to have an IceWing around — whereas most of them couldn't brave the cold and storm for an extended period of time, the weather here was a balmy day to Crystal. She had no problem collecting firewood, or going to see the yaks, even when the most horrendous of blizzards was out. A few times during the winter months, she had even delivered messages down the mountain to the town of Aeolus, and gotten supplies in return. Being an IceWing, she had gotten a number of weird looks and suspicion, but after explaining that Bobcat had sent her, and after finding a dragon who could read and showing them a small note of proof if needed, they allowed her to make her rounds.

Flying was initially difficult to Crystal. Being asleep for so long had taken a toll on her body, and a number of her wing muscles had started to atrophy. It had been initially difficult for her to make any longer flights, and even moreso to fly during the storms, but it wasn't too long before she recovered. On the days in which she had been free, she had worked up her flying and fighting skills to get her body back up to its previous health, occasionally sparring with Kite or Torrent.

Kite had received little formal training in fighting, and didn't fight with the normal SkyWing patterns Crystal had been taught in the required IceWing military training for dragonets. She was nimble, and close to Crystal in size and weight, but Crystal quickly caught onto her technique. She preferred to patiently circle around her opponent, and strike at them with her teeth and claws when they were unsuspecting. Of course, Crystal knew how to combat this — just never be caught off guard. Crystal would feign distraction, causing Kite to rush in at the opportunity, then nimbly avoid the SkyWing's attack, and push her over while she rushed to get back.

Torrent was a little different for Crystal to fight. Not only was he larger than most of the SkyWings in the village, but he had received formal SeaWing training while in the Deep Palace. SeaWings were one of those tribes the IceWing training had glossed over — SandWings, SkyWings, and MudWings were far more common to fight. The key point of the lesson, Crystal remembered, was "don't let them drag you underwater," something even a newly hatched dragonet would know. If a SeaWing pulled you under the surface, you were dead, and were probably a worthless soldier to begin with. Weeding out the weak.

Unlike Kite's patient strikes, Torrent attacked aggressively, diving straight into the fray as soon as the battle started. At first, Crystal thought the best choice of action was to try evading him and tiring him out, but that proved difficult to work with. Unlike IceWings, who used their spiked tails only as a side-weapon, SeaWings used theirs practically as much as their claws. Wherever Crystal tried to run, Torrent was able to strike her with a frightening amount of force.

Crystal's second strategy turned out much better. Torrent tended to attack head-on, but ended up turning to the side to use his tail for major strikes. In order to counter that, Crystal nimbly dived beneath his belly as he did so. As she slid under his belly, she would lightly stroke her claws beneath his scales, simulating how she would actually eviscerate his bowels in a real fight. She would just have to do it quickly enough, or else Torrent's body might fall on her, pinning her beneath.

Crystal had tried sparring with Griffin a few times, but eventually decided it wasn't worth the humiliation. Even if he was by far the smallest of them, Griffin was probably the most deadly. The first time, the IceWing had been far too overconfident of her fighting ability, and ended up with Griffin on her back, his talons on her throat. He was much nimbler than Crystal, and if he got on her back, between her wings, she wasn't able to throw him off. He was also easily able to run under her and run his talons along her underbelly (the same move Crystal was able to beat Torrent with).

Eventually, the long winter came to an end, and the four were finally ready to head out again. When they were deciding where to go, Torrent had an answer.

"Here," Torrent suggested, rolling open his enchanted map and placing the tip of his claw on it. It landed on a small blotch of ink, a pale peach, along the Five-Tail River, not too far from its mouth. "That's the nearest animus."

Crystal looked closely, then came to a realization. "I know where that is," she exclaimed, "I went through the two cities there after I left the Ice Kingdom. My brother-in-law has a friend there, Avalanche. She owns a house with a blue-shingled roof."

"Did you see any animuses while you were there?" Torrent questioned.

Crystal shook her head. "Nope. The cities are large, and it wouldn't be hard to hide." Torrent frowned in thought.

Schist squirmed a little bit. "Maybe we shouldn't go after another animus?" he suggested.

"No!" Crystal and Torrent said in unison. They looked at each other, then Crystal spoke up.

"As long as there are animus dragons around, they're a threat to Pyrrhia," Crystal explained. "You saw what Adobe did? Well just think about it if a queen got hold of that power, and tried to control one of them. It would be chaos; genocide. We _have_ to prevent that."

Schist looked uncomfortable; not quite sure how to respond. Crystal sighed.

"Look, I know you're worried about after what Magma did to you. You don't have to come with us. I'm sure your sister would be happy to have you back."  
Schist shook his head. "No, maybe you're right. I'm not going to run away, just cause I got a little singed." He smiled half-heartedly, the fused and melted scales on the right side of his neck stretching upwards. Crystal nodded awkwardly.

"Would this Avalanche let us stay there?" Griffin spoke up. "We're talking two cities here, it might be a bit harder to find this animus than it was finding Adobe and Magma."

Crystal grimaced. "It depends how angry she is. She sort of told me she'd knock my teeth out if I came back."  
"That bad?" Griffin asked in surprise. "Well, maybe she was just joking?"

Crystal shuffled uncertainly. "Maybe. A very large maybe."

"It's our best bet," Torrent interrupted. "And if she doesn't want us, we can find somewhere else. I've still got some jewelry from the Sea Kingdom left, so I'm sure we can find an inn if we need to."

"If _you_ need to," Griffin protested. "I doubt an inn would turn a blind eye to me."

Torrent nodded. "We can sort it out when we get there. For now, I just want to get out of the Sky Kingdom."

"Leaving so soon?" a creaking voice interrupted. Bobcat walked into the house smiling, led by Kite. "Our village not good enough for you?"

"Oh no, we mean no disrespect!" Schist quickly apologized. "Your hospitality has been nothing but wonderful! Torrent just meant he's nervous being in enemy territory, and it's a bit . . . _cold_."

Bobcat chuckled. "No need to be alarmed. You can leave anytime you want. You're not slaves or captives. Where do you plan on heading, I might ask?"

"The pair of cities on the Five-Tailed River," Crystal answered. "Neutral territory, so the war shouldn't be an issue there."

Bobcat nodded. "Yes, I believe I've heard of the place. If you want a route, I would suggest going along the northern coast rather than the south. We have no enemies on that side, so there will be fewer patrols. Kite has volunteered to guide you through the mountains to the northern coast."

"Thank you," Schist said in gratitude. "You've done so much for us."

Bobcat smiled. "No worries!" the elderly SkyWing grinned. "You have all done plenty to repay my favor. Now, good luck!" She waved a claw goodbye, and exited through the doorway.

Kite scanned over the four matter-of-factly. "Are you planning to go now?" she asked. "The weather is pretty good at the moment, but I don't know how long it will stay that way."

Torrent nodded in reply, and glanced around. He didn't see much reason to wait any longer. "Yeah, I think we're ready." The four of them quickly got their belongings together. They didn't have much, which would be good for a long flight. Torrent quickly strapped on his dagger and sheath.

Kite motioned with her wings for the four to follow, and exited out of the doorway. The snow outside was finally melting, and the spring sun was peeking through the cloud cover. Without a glance back, Kite spread her humongous wings, and jumped forward, taking off into the air. Torrent, Crystal, Schist, and Griffin quickly followed suit, struggling a little more with the take-off than the SkyWing they were following.

By the time the four made it to the northern coast, just west of the eastern term up Pyrrhia, Schist was frigid and shivering from being out in the open for so long. Kite dove down, and landed on the edge of a cliff by the edge of the ocean. Looking down off the cliff, cold white waves crashed furiously into the rocks.

"There's a cave down there," Kite notified the four sternly. "You might want to sleep in there for the night. It will help keep Schist warm, and will keep you hidden in case a patrol flies by."

Torrent nodded. "We need a fire, and Schist can't light one when it's this cold." In truth, Torrent wasn't sure if Schist would be willing to light one, even if it was summertime temperatures. "Can you light one for us? I can find some dry firewood."

"I'll go too," Crystal suggested.

Kite agreed, and waved a claw, beckoning Schist and Griffin to fly into the cave on the edge. Schist took a quick look back at the mountains they had left behind. Somewhere in there was the village that had been their home for the winter. He quickly followed Griffin, and landed in the cave's mouth alongside the other two. It was damp, and dark enough he couldn't see much beyond the entrance.

Suddenly, Kite opened her mouth, and let out a burst of flame into the cave. Schist jumped back in alarm, and staggered on the edge of the cave's mouth, drawing a nervous glance from Griffin. He quickly took a couple steps forward from the cliffside.

Kite continued on into the cave a little further, then stopped moving. "We need to wait for Crystal and Torrent."

After a few more minutes, the IceWing and SeaWing returned, and the five continued on into the beckoning chamber. The cave twisted upwards for a short amount, then stopped at an dead end, with a large slab of flat rock that could be used for sleeping on. Torrent and Crystal set down the firewood they had gathered, and shuffled back. Kite opened her jaws, and a bright stream of flame came out, setting wood aflame. Schist nervously moved closer to it, desiring the warmth it gave off.

Kite looked around at the others with a frown. "I'll be taking my leave now. Don't get killed." She whipped her tail around, and headed towards the entrance without another word.

"Bye!" Griffin called after her. "Thank you too!"

Crystal looked around at the other three. Schist had moved to the other side of the cave in order to rest, so not to accidentally roll into the fire as he slept. Griffin and Torrent were closer to the flame, and had already set down their belongings.

"Well, I'll be glad to get out of the Sky Kingdom," Crystal announced. "Not really a fan of knowing we could be arrested and sent to the the arena at any time. I've heard way too many stories about Queen Scarlet."

Torrent snorted slightly. "We're not out yet. We still have a ton more flying to do. Are you doing good after today's flight?"

Crystal snorted. "Of course." It was true that long flights had been harder after waking up from using the Darkstone, but it wasn't too much to complain about.

"Schist?" Torrent asked.

He shuffled his wings uncomfortably, the right wing membrane healed, but his scales along it still scarred. "I'll survive."

Torrent nodded, and glanced down towards the cave entrance. The sun had just barely set, and the glow of dusk was peeking in. "Good," he responded inattentively, his ears too focused on the sound of the crashing water below.


	43. Chapter 42

Griffin shivered, lost in sleep. He nudged his wings, touching the water below. Small droplets climbed up his shaft of his feathers, spreading out and dampening his wings. The cold water broke his sleep, and Griffin raised an eye.

"Water?" he yawned, pulling his wing out of the pool. "Did it rain?"

He suddenly realized that they were in a cave, sheltered from the elements above: this couldn't be from a passing thunderstorm. Griffin stood up with a start — saltwater had entered the cave while they were sleeping, filling up the entirety of it beneath the four. The tides must have risen while they were asleep.

"The water's rising!" Griffin called out in alarm, turning to the three sleeping dragons. The fire Kite had made for them was just cinders at this point, and it shed a faint light onto the others, a glowing reflection in their scales.

Torrent slowly opened an eye, with a yawn. "Yes," he murmured, not thinking, and rested his head back down.

Griffin walked over to the SeaWing with a frown, and shook Torrent's head with his talons. "Wake up," he hissed. "Crystal and Schist could drown."

"Drown?" Crystal asked, standing up in surprise. She shook her tail, the long spikes on the end rattling back and forth, then stretched out her wings. "I'm, sorry, _what_?"

Griffin pointed a talon at the water. It had filled up the entrance to the cave, and had only left the small platform untouched. "Water! It's filling up the cave, and you can't swim underwater, like Torrent and I. Schist, get up!"

Schist had risen to his paws, the aching pain in the right side of his body dull. "I see," he muttered.

"We need to get out of here before it gets too high up," Griffin hyperventilated, formulating a plan. "Torrent and I can breath underwater, so we can help you two through the caves, and if you fall unconscious, we'll be able to carry you to shore."  
"Wait, you can breath underwater?" Crystal asked in surprise.

"Yes," Griffin hurried, "how did you think I lived in the Deep Palace with Torrent? It's a magical thing." Griffin shuddered a little, thinking about what had happened after Crystal had first created him. He did not want anyone to drown today.

Torrent grinded his teeth a little. "He can, but I might not be able to."  
"What?" asked Griffin in confusion.

Torrent sighed, and raised a claw, dragging it along his left gills, scarred from the marks Magma's burning talons had created. "The diamond didn't heal my gills properly," he replied. "I don't know if I can still breath underwater, or how well. I haven't really had a chance to try since it happened. I might not be able to carry Schist or Crystal if they lose consciousness."

Griffin took a peek back at the water and tapped his talons. He could have sworn it had risen up another inch in the time they had been talking. "And if either Crystal or Schist start to drown, I too small to help them either. We need to hurry, and think of a new plan," he growled. "Anything else we need to know?"

Schist raised a claw. Griffin swiveled his head to look at him, ruffling his feathers. If this went up, they'd all be in a watery grave.

"I'll be fine," Schist explained. "I think can hold my breath for an hour or something if I try hard. I've never done it before, but apparently it's a MudWing thing."

"I've never heard of that," Griffin frowned, skeptical of Schist's claim.

"No, I think that Schist's right," Torrent spoke up, "I remember hearing about some battle where the MudWings were able to defeat a small SeaWing battalion underwater because of it."

"Are you sure you're not thinking of Queen Fen?" Griffin asked. "She used her animus magic to help the MudWings take the Deep Palace and conquer the Sea Kingdom."

"No MudWing history, please!" Crystal interrupted. "This plan is also terrible. So everyone else is accounted for, but what if I drown before you bring me out?"  
"We have the healing diamond still," Torrent pointed out, looking around for it. "If you do drown, we can use it to heal you."

Crystal snorted. "It can't heal me if I'm dead, and I'm not certain that thing works anyways. Sure, it kept Schist alive, but look how he turned out."

Schist tucked his tail in shame, and turned the scarred side of his body away from the others. He looked up towards the cave walls.

Griffin glanced over at Schist, and grimaced. Crystal could be just as insensitive as Torrent. "Well, it's either that or you die," Griffin decided. "Do you have a better plan?"  
"We could just wait," Schist suggested, turning back to Griffin.

"What?" Griffin hysterically asked. "Do you _want_ her to drown?"

Schist shook his head, then raised a talon to the cave wall. "Look, the stone here is a lighter color than the one down below." He dragged his talon down the wall, to where the stone changed colors. "And there are barnacles down here, but not above." The MudWing glanced over at the stone platform. "I think the line is where high tide meets. The platform is above the line, so I don't the water reaches up to there."

Torrent and Griffin breathed a sigh of relief. Crystal thought for a moment longer. "And we've still got four or so more years until the Brightest Night," she realized, "so there's probably no freak moon alignment." She closed her eyes, calming herself. "Which means we were never in danger to begin with."

Griffin fidgeted uncomfortably. "Er, sorry about waking you up, I guess," he chuckled.

"It's fine," Crystal comforted. "I would've done the same." She glanced at the water, almost reaching up to the high tide mark Schist had pointed out. "We're going to have some time before it recedes enough for us to leave, I imagine." She turned to the other three. "I doubt we're going to get much flying in today."

Torrent nodded, then turned to Griffin, swishing his tail back and forth. "Sorry about that," he muttered.

"What for?" Griffin asked in confusion.

"Not telling you about my gills," Torrent explained. "With only one working, I don't know if I'll be able to live in the Deep Palace again."

Griffin turned his feathered head back and forth, parsing Torrent's statement. "Wait, you think I want to go back to the Deep Palace again?" he asked, almost laughing. "No offense, but I don't ever want to swim again in my life. Maybe it was fun for you, since you didn't have to constantly hide, and were able to actually breath, but the Deep Palace is no place for a gryphon, magical breathing or not. Believe me, I much prefer real air."

"Oh," Torrent gulped in embarrassment and shame. He hadn't realized Griffin had hated it so much in the Sea Kingdom. "I'm sorry, I didn't know — "

"No problem," Griffin replied with a smile. "The situation wasn't ideal, and I know Orca did the best she could."

Torrent nodded, and looked at the embers of the fire. They were fading, and if they were going to be here for another quarter of a day, Schist would need the warmth. After placing some more of the firewood he and Crystal had collected, the SeaWing put his snout close to the fire, and gave the fire a short puff of breath. Crystal hid a laugh as the cinders quickly glew an orange, then faded again in the pulse of a heartbeat.

"That's not how you do it, you silly water-breather," she directed Torrent. "You have to keep your breath steady and long."

The end of the SeaWing's tail twitched back and forth. "And what would a dragon with 'freezing death breath' know about maintaining fires?"

"Princess Blaze refuses to make her own fires, and I was unfortunately assigned to taking care of her for a time while she met with Queen Glacier and my father," Crystal commented, "and it's not like everything we breath on freezes. It's like fire-breath, it's different than normal breathing."

Torrent frowned, and put his snout a bit closer to the fire, wincing at the heat and smoke. He took in a deep breath, then slowly let out air, barely opening his jaws. The embers started to glow brightly, then suddenly erupted into flame, surrounding the pieces of tinderwood on top. After Torrent was done, the fire had restarted.

"Freezing death breath?" Schist asked Crystal. "That sounds awesome, can I see?"

"Sure?" she replied. "Just stand back. There's a reason it's called freezing _death_ breath."

Crystal turned to a wall of the cave, and opened her mouth wide, breathing in. The other three took a wide step back, not wanting to get too close. She exhaled, and a unnatural hissing noise came from her mouth. A white mist emanated from her mouth in a stream, and as it hit the wall and spread across the cave's surface, white clouds billowed towards the other three.

Torrent scrambled back in alarm the clouds of gas flooded towards him. "It's fine!" Crystal called out, noticing his fear. "The clouds are harmless, as long as you don't get hit by the frostbreath straight-on."

Torrent meekly looked down as a cloud brushed past his paws. It was cold, and dryer than the ocean air around them, tingling strangely on his scales. As the mist cleared away, Schist walked a little closer towards Crystal. On the wall, where she had breathed her frostbreath, ice crystals had formed, covering the stone surface, and nestling within the cracks.

Crystal smiled in accomplishment as Schist looked on, amazed. "You should have seen what I did to attack Magma," Crystal said. "I didn't even know I had that much frostbreath in me."

Schist nodded, slightly self-conscious of his injuries again. He had heard what Crystal had done before, but hadn't known what the frostbreath looked like until now.

Torrent and Griffin walked closer to the two, both examining the ice crystals the frostbreath had made.

"You mentioned you had a sister, right?" Schist asked Crystal.

"Yeah, Clarity," Crystal replied with a hint of surprise. "Why do you ask?"

Schist fidgeted from side to side. "I was just thinking about my own sister, Glen. I wonder if she misses me, or if she's worried about me."

"Probably," Griffin commented. "She was pretty worried about you when she found us."

Crystal thought for a moment. "Yeah, siblings can be like that. Clarity wouldn't admit it, but I'm sure she's worried sick about me. I hope Fracture somehow got the news to her that I made it out of the Ice Kingdom."

"Do IceWings do families?" Schist asked. "Like, not just siblings, but also parents?"

"Usually," Crystal explained, "but it varies. Boreal was always too busy to care for me, so Clarity was really the one who raised me. She's my bigclaws, or whatever you call them."

"Bigwings," Schist corrected with a laugh. "Because their wings are big enough to protect the rest of their siblings from harm." He frowned a little. Maybe Quake was able to protect him and Glen while he was alive, but he wasn't able protect them dead. That had been Glen's job. "Usually. What about your mother?"

Crystal rattled her tail a little. "She died before I hatched, so I never actually knew her, but she was a popular general in the war against Queen Oasis, back before Glacier was queen. Clarity says I'm a bit like her."

Griffin glanced over to the water, and relaxed his wings. "It's going down!" he stated with relief to the others. "Schist was right!"

Crystal breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good to know," she smiled. "I guess I'm not going to die!"

The water level had gone down quite a bit since Griffin had woken the others up, and over the next few hours, it continued to fall. Eventually, it reached the point where the four could walk out of the cave, almost dry. Torrent looked over the edge of the cliff, to the north. A cold salty breeze blew against him, and the sun was high in the sky, over the great ocean to the north. There was no land, at least not as far as Torrent could see. Maybe if you flew far enough in that direction, you'd reach the Lost Continent or some other unexplored area.

Torrent looked to the left, peeking his head over the edge of the cave, and around the corner of the cliff-face. The jagged cliffs continued as far as he could see. That was where they were going: to the south-west, out of the Sky Kingdom. A strong gust of wind pushed his head against the cliff, his left horn almost hitting the rock, and salty water sprayed against his scales. It almost felt like home. He turned, and glanced back at Crystal, Schist, and Griffin, patiently waiting for him.

Crystal spread out her wings, almost hitting Torrent in the neck. "Well, c'mon!" she snorted. "The day's almost half over thanks to those stupid tides, are we going to go flying, or not?"

She leapt off the side of the cliff face, her tail snaking behind her, gliding a short distance down before flapping her wings, generating lift. Torrent quickly followed, with Schist and Griffin jumping off after him. The four turned to the west, the crashing waves of the sea beneath their wings.


	44. Chapter 43

Crystal yawned, and tried to turn her head to the side. The sun was almost directly in her eyes as the four continued along the coastline, glinting off the blue waters. The reflection of the sun slowly moved towards its causer, as the great yellow orb started to dip below the horizon.

How long had they been flying, again? She wasn't sure, but her wings were exhausted from continuously beating for who knows how long, and she was ready to get a good night's rest. The IceWing turned to Schist. He looked even worse, actively struggling to fly. Instead of gliding to conserve his wingbeats, like most dragons had been taught since birth, the MudWing was faltering, his breath heavy as he flapped his wings up and down, almost flailing.

The last week or so had been very tiring on both her and Schist, and they were barely more than halfway to their destination. While most dragons would have found this an excruciatingly slow pace, there wasn't much to be done. The four were flying in enemy territory, which meant that they had to quickly find cover at even the smallest glimpse of another SkyWing in the distance, and at every little hamlet along the northern coast Bobcat had marked, they had to spend hours going out to of their way, flying without break across the ocean. Additionally, Crystal and Schist needed far more breaks than the usual dragon — even after so many months, Crystal was still recovering to her full strength before the coma, while Schist had both never learned proper long-distance flying and was having plenty of difficulties using his scarred wing. This had made flying over the ocean to avoid SkyWings even _more_ difficult, as they occasionally had to stop over the ocean for Schist or Crystal. A few times, Torrent had even let Schist or Crystal rest on his back as he acted as a floatation device for them. Even if he didn't say it, Crystal could tell that he had missed the open ocean.

"It's getting late!" Crystal called to Torrent and Griffin, who were a few wingbeats ahead of her and Schist. "We should find a place to sleep."

Griffin looked back, and gave her a nod. He pointed to the ground and muttered something to Torrent that Crystal couldn't hear in the wind, then dived. Torrent quickly followed, Crystal and Schist gliding behind him. They landed in a small clearing, a fair ways away from the coast.

Fortunately for Schist, the more south-west they got, and closer to the Sand Kingdom, the warmer it became. The first few nights, he had slept cold (it was too cold for him to create a fire, not that he wanted to anyways. Torrent and Crystal agreed — it was far too much of a risk to create a fire in SkyWing territory), but had acclimated somewhat during their stay in the Sky Kingdom. Crystal could feel the temperature rising every day, somewhat to her dismay.

So, they slept without a fire nearby, taking watches. Crystal was around halfway through her watch, when she heard something not too far away. Voices talking. Crystal stayed silent as she tensed up. They weren't alone in the forest.

"Did you hear about that new princess?" one of the dragons said. He was close to Crystal, and walking closer. She slowly inched towards Torrent, and shook him gently. The large SeaWing opened one eye, and opened his mouth to speak, before Crystal put a talon over it, signaling him to keep quiet.

"Of course, this 'Princess Ruby?'" a second dragon sneered. "You don't believe whatever the queen said, right?"  
Torrent slowly got up, staying as silent as possible. There was a large bush between them and the two dragons, but the distance was quickly closing. He drew his dagger out of its sheathe, ready to fight if it came to that. Crystal moved onto Schist and Griffin, slowly waking them up with a tap. They glanced up quietly as she gave them the same signal.

"What do you think I am, a dragonet?" the first snorted. "Tourmaline's mysterious 'disappearance' was clearly just Scarlet killing her off. It's not like she hasn't done it before. This poor 'Ruby' dragon is probably some unlucky bastard."

Crystal took a step towards the bush Torrent was hiding behind, her hind paw stepping on a dry leaf and making a faint crackling sound.

"Poor?" the second asked. "I wouldn't consider myself poor if I got to live in the pal — did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" the first questioned. Crystal's heart beat rapidly, her claws shaking anxiously. If they were caught . . . "It was probably a deer or something. We're too far from the border to see any trouble, it's why I asked to get assigned here."

"No, I'm sure I heard something larger," the second protested. He stepped closer to the bushes, and spent a tense moment scanning them. In the dark, he couldn't see the dragons behind it, though Torrent could see the crimson scales of his enemy completely fine with his night-vision. There were only two. "Hmm, maybe you're right," the SkyWing muttered, as he started to turn back to his partner. "I don't think I se —"

Torrent leapt through the bushes with a roar with his dagger out, jumping on the shocked crimson SkyWing. As the other one, a large orange SkyWing with a short tail, screamed in fright, Torrent slit his prey's jugular in one quick motion, blood spraying from the SkyWing's neck onto Torrent's neck and chest.

After the quick lapse into fear, the orange SkyWing caught a hold of himself, and quickly pounced at Torrent. He roared in anger, seeing his partner, and pushed the larger SeaWing off the red SkyWing's corpse, almost knocking Torrent to the ground. Torrent whipped his body around to hit the SkyWing with his bludgeoning tail, but he was too slow, and the SkyWing clawed at Torrent's neck, drawing red blood from it.

"Get back!" Crystal suddenly yelled. In a short moment of confusion, Torrent leapt away from the SkyWing into the bush behind him, his step immediately followed by a blast of freezing air inches from the tip of his snout. It hit the SkyWing full-on in the face, causing him to scream in agony as Crystal's freezing death breath sprayed up and down his neck and head, his scales icing together and cracking.

When she stopped her breath, the SkyWing fell forward, landing with a reverberating crack at Torrent's front paws. He stepped away as dry clouds billowed past him, and turned to Crystal.

"Thanks," Torrent gruffly mumbled. Crystal smiled and gave him a nod, then turned back to the campsite.

By this point, Schist and Griffin were fully awake, blinking at the scene of carnage that had taken place before them. Blood dripped off Torrent's face and neck, and a chunk of the second SkyWing's frozen skull had cracked from the rest of his corpse, blood frozen within it.

"Why . . .?" Schist asked with an expression of shock, speechless. "They weren't going to find us! He said he didn't see us!"

"And what if he was lying?" Torrent snapped. "Or maybe he decided to look again due to his sneaking suspicion, or they had kept going our way and ran into us!"

"You killed them," Schist growled. "You didn't have to do that!"

"I had to make a decision!" Torrent defensively protested. "It was either them, or us. At least this way, no one got hurt."

" _No one got hurt?_ " Schist screeched. He pointed a claw to the body of the crimson SkyWing, blood still pouring from his neck. "How is that ' _no one got hurt_?'"

Hearing Schist's screech, Crystal nervously glanced around the empty forest. Hopefully there no one else nearby to hear all of this, or they might have trouble.

"Yeah, but they're our enemies, they deserve it," Griffin chimed in. "They're SkyWings, and guards at it. They're the bad guys here."

" _What?_ " Schist growled. "Do you realize who's been feeding and taking care of you for the last six months? _SkyWings!_ And we literally have an IceWing right here! Out of all of us, I'd think that the non-dragon wouldn't hate them just because they're SkyWings." Crystal took a step back. She wasn't sure she wanted to get involved in this.

"Yeah, well that's different," Griffin answered, ruffling his feathers in anger. "Crystal is on _our_ side; she supports Queen Blister like the rest of us."

"What?" Crystal scoffed. "Seriously? You think I support that scheming monster?"

"Yes! You're a traitor to the IceWings, aren't you?" Griffin claimed.

A small snarl formed on Crystal's snout. "Just because I betrayed Queen Glacier doesn't make me any less of an IceWing. If Queen Glacier decided to take me back, I would do it, and _happily_ serve in Queen Blaze's army. I love my kingdom, and would support Queen Glacier and the Ice Kingdom with any decision they made, _short of causing a MudWing genocide._ You know, you're not even a SeaWing," Crystal hissed. "Why should you be supporting Princess Evil like the rest of them?"

"You're one to blame Griffin!" Schist muttered. "You're just as guilty as Torrent, you murdered one of them too!"

Crystal opened her mouth to argue, but Torrent quickly stepped between the three. "Alright, I'm sorry for saving your tails!" he conceded. "Don't blame Crystal for this, I'm the one who attacked the SkyWings, she was just trying to help me out. Can't we just go back to sleep now?"

Schist frowned, and gave Torrent a glare. "Fine," he muttered finally, his scarred snout and scales reflecting the moonlight. He turned back towards the pile of leaves he was sleeping on, and started to lie down.

"Wait," brought up Crystal in exasperation, "we can't stay here. If these guards don't get back to wherever they were dispatched from on time, someone will go looking for them. We need to get far away from here, fast, so they can't track us.

Schist sighed, looking back at her. "Fine," he muttered. He opened his wings, and grabbed his bag. The other three did the same, and quickly lifted off into the moonlit night, Torrent leading them with his night-vision. The cold air from the sea brushed against their scales, as their wings, heavy with exhaustion, slowly beat back and forth. It would be a long night, and the four weren't going to get more sleep anytime soon.


	45. Chapter 44

Faint candlelight shone off the Great Five-Tail River, taking its place next to the two moons shining that night — one half-full, and one just the sliver of a crescent. The golden light of flame was surprising at first, in comparison to the silver shining moons. The four weary travelers looked up the river to see the source of the light: a city flanked each side of the river, with a great bridge built between the two, stretching up to the height of the buildings nearby. Dots of flame were positioned strategically around the cities in order to light up the surrounding areas throughout the night. Each flame was contained in a small lantern placed atop a pole, and would be blown out each morning, usually by a young SkyWing or SandWing who was given much-needed food in return.

The large bridge of pearly white stone spanned across the Five-Tail River in the center, covered archways orderly arranged across it. Empty market stalls lay side-by-side across the expanse, with a couple SandWings still on the bridge, just dots in the distance to the four approaching. Closer to them were a series of docks on the right bank of the river, with a number of large cubical buildings just a little further in. Behind the four was the mouth of the Great Five-Tail River, where they had flown from.

Crystal pointed a talon to the left side of the banks, where quaint houses with red triangular roofs covered the landscape. "There," she said, "that's the SkyWing city. One of those houses should have a blue-shingled roof; that's where we should go."

Torrent squinted. Because his nightvision had turned on, it was too dark to make out different colors well, but he thought he saw a roof which looked like it might have appeared blue in the daytime. "I think that's the one," he stated, pointing a webbed talon towards it.

Schist flew a little bit further forward. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Schist asked. "Going into a SkyWing city. What if someone heard about how you killed those guards, and finds us suspicious?"

Crystal scoffed. "If things haven't changed since I was last here, no one's going to give us a second glance. It's primarily SkyWings and SandWings, but I think I saw a few MudWings, IceWings, and even the occasional SeaWing around."

"Maybe nobody will look at you twice," Griffin pointed out, "but I doubt I'm gonna be ignored."

Crystal looked over at Griffin. He was right, even if he pretended that he couldn't talk, bringing what's supposed to be a mythical creature into a large city could draw a lot of attention. And if Princess Burn got word of it, he'd be stuffed and thrown in her tower.

"Alright," she replied, "we can try sneaking you in, and if she lets us stay, we can hide you in Avalanche's house."

Griffin frowned, not exactly happy about being hidden again, but didn't protest.

Torrent scanned the area around the blue-shingled roof. "There," he said, moving his talon a bit further from the river, "it looks like there's a clearing we can land down in. It's dark, so hopefully no one should get a clear view of Griffin, and we can walk to your SkyWing friend's house from there."

Crystal gave Torrent an okay, and the four moved ahead, slowly gliding over the top of the SkyWing city on the eastern banks of the river. Torrent saw a couple SkyWings down below, but a couple of dragons flying overhead wasn't anything too unusual, and no one bothered to give the shadows above more than a short glance. As they reached the clearing, a small grassy field, they dove down, Griffin staying above the others to hide behind their wings.

Fortunately, they were the only ones in the field that night, and Griffin was able to land quickly and quietly. Not wanting to have him be seen, Torrent draped a wing over his much smaller friend, and moved towards the edge of the field, towards a small alley behind a couple of brown-roofed houses.

"I think the house is this way," Torrent quietly whispered. "It shouldn't be too far."  
Crystal nodded. "I'll go in front and look out for any approaching dragons. Torrent will keep covering Griffin, and Schist will watch from behind." She quickened her pace, and stepped in front of Torrent without a moment's notice, walking down the alley.

"C'mon," she hissed back at the other three, "the longer we're out here, the greater the chance we'll be caught." Torrent and Griffin followed a short pace behind her, while Schist nervously lagged behind them, watching over his wings for any dragons who seemed like they might be following them.

They continued down the narrow back-alley until reaching the edge of a larger street. Crystal suddenly stopped, and opened her wings, trying to push Torrent backwards with them. He took a few steps away, almost running into Schist. A SkyWing muttering something angrily to herself walked directly past Crystal, not even giving her a glance. When she passed, Crystal motioned the others forwards with a claw, and quickly took them across the paved road, the cracks in the stone rushing from Griffin's talons.

The four moved on like this, staying out of sight, until Torrent pointed to a large barn, no, a house, which stood out from the surrounding area like a gryphon in the Sea Kingdom. A blue-shingled roof rested on top, covering the inside from any rain. "I think that's it," he pointed out.

Crystal nodded. "Griffin, stay hidden here until I'm sure she'll let us stay," she ordered, "Torrent and Schist, come with me."

The two other dragons followed her directions, and walked to the door of the house. Crystal took a deep breath in, then gave a sharp rap on the old door. A few seconds later, a bright crimson SkyWing pushed open the door in a furious hiss, almost knocking Crystal back.

"You," Avalanche hissed. "I said I'd knock your teeth out if you came back." She tapped a few of her claws on the ground in a threatening fashion, glaring at the IceWing in front of her.

Crystal sighed. "I need someplace to stay, alright? Would you mind letting us sleep here for a while?"

"Us?" Avalanche asked with a hint of exaggeration, as if she already knew Crystal had brought friends. She peered her head around the edge of the door, noticing the large SeaWing standing behind Crystal, and the MudWing with half his scales seared off. "Interesting group you've brought here," she clucked. "You said you wouldn't come back."

"I _know_ ," Crystal smiled, trying to reply in her sweetest voice, "but we're really in a bit of a pinch here, and could use a place to rest our wings. If you want payment, we can offer it."

"Trying to bribe me, eh?" Avalanche snorted, looking over towards Schist in an uncomfortable stare. She scanned up and down his right side, looking over his scars. "What happened to _you_?" she asked, with an air of condescension. "Fell into a vat of lava?"

"He ran in —" Crystal started to answer for the MudWing, before Avalanche silenced her, pushing her head away with a claw.

"I want him to answer," she sneered. "C'mon, cat got your tongue?" The SkyWing suddenly gave a slight frown at the mention of cats, and glanced around the area, before turning back to Schist.

"I attacked a dragon with scales as hot as lava," Schist hissed, shaking slightly. "That's all."

Avalanche smiled sinisterly. "I believe I know the type of SkyWing you're talking about. Unfortunate, isn't it?" She turned back to Crystal. "Fine, you and your strange friends may stay here, for _now_. Is it just you three?" She asked this last question with a hint of confusion, as if she was expecting more.

Crystal shook her head. "We have a fourth." She waved a claw to Griffin, motioning him to come out of hiding.

The small gryphon quickly ran towards the house, not wanting to be caught by any onlookers. Avalanche looked on in surprise. "Well, what is _that_?" she asked in contempt. "Sorry, but we have enough pets here already."

"He's not a pet," Torrent growled at her. She gave him a look of skepticism, before Griffin spoke up.

"I'm not," Griffin stated matter-of-factly.

Avalanche nodded with a slight smile, and opened the door wide, for them to enter. They quickly went into the one-room house, trying to make sure Griffin stayed outside for as little as possible. An empty fireplace was in one side of the room, and various items and litter were scattered around the floor, except for in a small corner of the room which was strangely clear.

Crystal furrowed her snout at a pungent scent. "What's that smell?" she asked.

"Cat piss," Avalanche hissed, gritting her teeth. "The nasty buggers are everywhere. You'll see more of them soon enough, I guarantee it." She turned towards Griffin, and closed the door behind him. "Hopefully none of them try to eat our pretty birdy," she commented. She reached a talon out to Griffin, trying to stroke his feathers. He quickly took a step back and gave her a hiss in response, then turned back to the others with a frown.

"Look," Torrent replied with a growl behind his voice, "thank you _so_ much for letting us stay, but don't touch Griffin." He mustered holding back a snarl.

Avalanche licked her lips, flicking her tongue in and out of her teeth, but didn't make a reply.

Crystal brushed aside a little bit of the clutter, some scrolls, rocks, and burnt firewood, then lied down on the stone floor uncomfortably. She was not particularly looking forward to staying with Avalanche. Hopefully, they'd be out of the city soon.


	46. Chapter 45

"Get up! Y'all are lazier than RainWings!"

Avalanche's voice was like a chunk of ice being dropped on Crystal's head. She slowly opened her eyes to see Avalanche pacing around the room, shaking Torrent awake.

Her wings were sore when the IceWing tried to move them, as if they knew her long journey of flying had come to a pause, and decided to take a break. Even with the interruption, this was the longest straight night of sleep she had gotten, not having to serve a watch for SkyWings. She groaned, and pulled herself to her paws, lifting her body off the floor.

"What?" Torrent grumbled sourly as he raised his head. "Are there SkyWings after us or something?"

" _SkyWings_?" Avalanche screeched, practically choking. "You think _SkyWings_ are why I'm getting you up? No, I need you to go to the market!"

"Market?" Torrent asked in confusion.

Avalanche snarled angrily. "What, you think you're just going to stay in my house for free, is that it?" Torrent tried to shake his head in response, but Avalanche was too quick. "As part of your . . . boarding fee, you're going to go to the market and buy food and supplies for me, and for the rest of you if you'd like."

"Part of?" Schist quickly asked.  
Avalanche nodded, and pointed to Griffin. "Since he obviously can't go out into the city, he's going to start by cleaning up the house. We'll see what else there is when he's done."

"Look," Torrent protested, clenching his teeth a little, "we'd love to help you out, but we're looking for an animus nearby, and it's urgent."

"Urgent?" Avalanche laughed. "If it was urgent, you should have slept in less. This 'animus' can wait another day if you want to be sleeping here another night."

"Fine," Crystal crisply agreed, cutting off whatever Torrent had to say. "We'll go out and get your food. Torrent, you have a way to pay, right?"

Torrent thought for a moment. Yes, he still some jewelry from the Sea Kingdom; if he could pawn it off, it would be more than enough. "Yeah, I can," he said, "but —"

"It's fine," Crystal quickly told the SeaWing. "We've waited through the winter already, our animus can wait another day."

Torrent grumbled unhappily. They had already waited so long in the Sky Kingdom, and the flight had felt like forever. Now, they finally had gotten to their destination, but they just had to wait _more_? He gave Avalanche a quick glare, to which he received a smug face in response. The SeaWing then turned away to his bag, to pull out a small necklace with rubies, diamonds, and pearls inlaid within it. Avalanche's eyes opened wide at the sight.

"You coming with us?" Crystal asked, turning to Schist.

Schist squirmed uncomfortably. "No thanks," he replied, "I'll just help out Griffin and Avalanche."

"Really?" Crystal asked, surprised. "I thought you'd want to check out the cities?"

"I don't know," he muttered, "I don't want to attract too much attention."

"He's embarrassed 'cause he's ugly," Avalanche rudely commented. "He doesn't want to scare the poor dragonets with his looks."

Crystal bared her teeth a little at her. "He's not _ugly_ ," she hissed at Avalanche. Sure, he had some bad burns and scarring, but it wasn't the worst she had seen. Well, maybe it was, but it probably wasn't the worst in Pyrrhia. "And you're one to talk, your scales look like a red RainWing threw up on them."

 _Oops,_ Crystal suddenly realized, closing her snout tight, _maybe I shouldn't be insulting our host._

Avalanche gave her a long stare, before a toothy grin appeared on her face. "So, you have a little gusto in you after all, do you?"

Crystal gave her a quick hiss, then looked over towards Schist. He tensed up at her look. "Avalanche is right," he quietly murmured, "I _am_ ugly."

"And I'm an overgrown bird," Griffin commented, walking over to Schist. He took his talons, and put them around Schist's head and moved it up to look at him, directly in the eyes. "Look, it doesn't matter if you're ugly, alright? You got those scars from _saving all our lives_ , and you were willing to die for us. I don't think I could have done what you did, running into a burning dragon just to save a SeaWing you barely knew. And if some eel-brained SkyWing says that you're ugly, then remember that even if you were the ugliest dragon in the world, you're better than she could ever be for it."

Schist smiled weakly, while Avalanche just rolled her eyes. "You're adorable together, you know that?" she said snarkily. "It's _deplorable_. Now, get out of your happy little 'you saved my life' friendship circle, and back to real life, where dragons will judge you for a mismatched scale, and toughen up. Are you going with Crystal, or not?"  
Schist gave Avalanche a glare. "I'm staying here. But not because you think I'm ugly, because my wings are tired and I want to rest."

"You're not going to rest, believe me," Avalanche grinned. "But if you don't want to go prancing around the city, fine by me. You and the bird can help me clean this dump. Maybe scare away a few cats while you're at it." She turned to Crystal, and Torrent, who was standing by her with the necklace he had grabbed. "Well?"

Crystal nodded with a glare. "Quick question," she asked, steadying her voice, "the SandWing who brought me here before, do you know his name? Where he lives?"

Avalanche was in thought for a quick moment, tapping a claw on the scales of her jaw. "Nope, no clue," she answered, turning back to Crystal. "I don't keep track of the street urchins, they all just look the same to me. Stand around long enough and I'm sure one of them will rob you, just like any other one of the lawless SandWings who live here." She pointed to the necklace Torrent had in his claws. "You might want to hide that," she suggested.

Crystal gritted her teeth. _What is wrong with her?_ she angrly wondered. _Griffin, Schist, and now the SandWing who helped me find her? Can't she just close her snout for a moment, or at least not say something awful every time she opens it?_

Crystal turned to the door. "Come on, let's go," she muttered, irritated. Torrent quickly followed, and shut the door to the blue-shingled house behind him. He took the necklace and crumpled it up within his left claws, so not to let it be seen.

"Do you know which way to go?" he asked Crystal.

"I think so," she replied. She pointed a talon towards the west. "The market I saw was in the SandWing city, and I'm sure there's a jeweler or a pawn shop somewhere along the way.

Torrent nodded, and followed Crystal. They walked to one of the larger roads, where a horde of SkyWings were heading to the west, towards the bridge spanning the Five-Tailed River. A few dragons of other tribes joined the SkyWings in the migration, a small number of SandWings were there, in addition to a MudWing and a weird dragon Torrent couldn't tell the tribe of — she had what looked like a miniscule barb, but no frill and the long curved horns of a SkyWing.

Crystal and Torrent pushed through the crowd, Torrent towering above them and holding his necklace tightly. He looked over to Crystal, who still appeared a bit miffed.

"Wow, who doused her wounds in seawater?" Torrent asked, referring to Avalanche.

Crystal looked over to Torrent, startled out of her thoughts. "I know, right?" she replied, half laughing, half grimacing. "I'm beginning to doubt my brother-in-law's taste of friends right now; she has absolutely _no_ redeeming qualities, out of all the dragons in Pyrrhia, three moons, why would he go find her?"

"Go find her?" Torrent asked in confusion, not sure what Crystal meant.

Crystal nodded. "Yeah. At least according to Avalanche, Fracture, my brother-in-law, apparently found Avalanche, my sister, and few other dragons to form some anti-war society or whatever. I met one of the others back in the Sky Kingdom, before I found you." A look of disgust crossed her face. "It was a NightWing."

For a moment, Torrent was wondering what was so wrong with NightWings, then quickly recalled his Arctic and Darkstalker legends. Of course. The two kingdoms had hated each other for the last few thousand years. Why would he be surprised that Crystal didn't like NightWings? Still, it was even weirder that this Fracture had sought out a NightWing. Torrent wondered how Fracture had found one, the only NightWing he'd ever seen was Sunscorcher, and apparently the location of the Night Kingdom was so well-kept, no one else had been there in two thousand years.

The two passed over the great bridge spanning the river, dragons shoving each other aside to get past each other. Loud shouts of vendors in stalls hurt Torrent's ears, this place was a mess compared to the underwater silence of the Deep Palace. A SandWing on the front suddenly pushed against Torrent, causing the large SeaWing to stagger back. He gave Torrent a glare, then turned back to his business, buying some sort of lotion from a MudWing selling various herbs and homemade remedies, who boasting to the public about how effective they were, particularly in comparison to the quack doctor SkyWing selling mass-produced junk on the other end of the bridge.

"Well, that was rude," he muttered to Crystal, suddenly turning around to see a young SkyWing in her place.

The SkyWing gave him a strange stare, then shoved what looked like a toad (or perhaps charcoal in the shape of a toad) on a stick in front of Torrent's snout. "Toad-on-a-stick, great for a morning snack. You want to buy?"

"Er, no thanks," Torrent replied, taken aback. "I prefer my food raw."

The dragonet quickly turned away, running up to a pair of grinning SkyWings behind Torrent and giving them the same offer. Torrent turned back, and looked around, peeking over the horns and wings of the dragons crowd front of him for Crystal. It shouldn't be that hard to find an IceWing within this crowd, a spot of light-blue would stick out easily.

He saw her a few paces ahead, then pushed through the mass of scales and wings to get to her, drawing some growls and sharp remarks. She glanced up when he got there, "Oh, that's where you are," she said. "Look, I think that's what we're looking for."

She pointed her talon over the side of the bridge, to a small shop not too far from the store. A wooden sign was atop it, reading "Oryx's Jewelry and Pawn." The letters were painted on in a thick blue paint, and the sign was slightly lower on the left end than the right. "C'mon," Crystal said, pushing further down the crowd, now heading down the other side of the bridge.

Torrent quickly followed, trying to keep up with the smaller and nimbler IceWing. When he turned the corner to get out of the main roads and onto the riverbank, she was already there, waiting for him. The two walked up to the entrance of the pawn shop together, and opened the door. The shop itself was miniscule on the inside: the walls were covered in various cheap junk, and at the back of the room was a small counter with a bored looking SandWing crouching down behind it, most likely Oryx. A small staircase ran up the back of the counter, leading up to what could be Oryx's home above the shop.

Oryx looked up and flicked out his forked tongue with a hint of interest. He stood to his full height, looking up towards Torrent defiantly. A random pattern of orange scales speckled his backside, interspersed between the pale yellow scales most common among SandWings. "An IceWing _and_ a SeaWing together," he snorted with a tiny chuckle, "that's not something you see everyday, even here. What's the story?"

"We're not together," Crystal replied with a feigned smile. "I mean, we are together, but not in that way. I'm traveling with him and a couple other friends, that's all."

Oryx nodded, and looked over the two suspiciously. "Well, welcome to Oryx's Jewelry and Pawn. Best pawn shop in both cities, although I'd have to admit I'm slightly partial. You here to buy or to sell?"

"Sell," Torrent answered, opening his paw and showing Oryx the necklace.

He nodded, flicking his forked tongue in and out, then held out a claw. "May I take a closer look?"

Crystal clenched her teeth in a bit of worry, but Torrent dropped the necklace into Oryx's claws. He examined it for almost a minute, then set it back down on the counter. "SeaWing craftsmanship. Not bad."

Oryx ducked his head beneath the counter for a second, his horns and sail waving back and forth. When he came up, he pulled out a small pouch, and dropped it on the counter, half-opened. Torrent peeked inside to see a cluster of silver pieces of various sizes, stamped with the images of SandWing and SkyWing queens.

Torrent reached a claw out towards the pouch, intending to take it, when Crystal suddenly wrapped her talons around Torrent's forearm and pulled it backwards. She scoffed at Oryx. "We're going to need a little more than that," she demanded. "Three of those pouches, filled to the brim with gold, might be barely enough."

Oryx chuckled heartily. "Are you trying to bleed me dry?" he asked with slight disappointment. He went back under the counter and pulled out another one of the pouches, half-filled with gold pieces. "How do you expect me to feed my dragonets?"

Crystal gave him a cold stare. "Not my problem. Now, do you want this necklace, or not? I'm _sure_ you're not the only shop nearby."

Oryx sighed exaggeratedly, then pulled out another pouch similar to the second. "This is the best you're going to get, you know. What more do you want, my entire shop? My mate and dragonets?"

Crystal brought her eyes up to his, and gave him a cold hiss, then grabbed the three pouches on the counter. "We're good," she said, then turned around, exiting the shop.

Oryx quickly snatched the necklace from the counter, then looked up at Torrent. "Anything else you want to sell?"

Torrent shook his head, then went out of the shop after Crystal. He glanced over at her, quickly scanning over the coins she had gotten. She handed one of the pouches to Torrent, and he looked at it carefully. "I hope we didn't take too much," he muttered.

Crystal looked at Torrent and almost choked on her. He gave her a look of confusion. "Believe me, _he's_ going to be fine," she explained, "we could have gotten five times this for that necklace, and he'd still make a profit."

"Oh," Torrent replied with a frown, "is it really that expensive?"  
The IceWing nodded vigorously. "Half the dragons in the city would've killed you to get that, maybe more. You really don't know anything about money, do you?"

Torrent fidgeted his wings in embarrassment. "Whirlpool didn't really teach River and I about stuff like that, that was more what Orca learned."

Crystal rolled her eyes. "Then what did he teach you?"

"History, writing, science, stuff like that," Torrent replied. "Although half of it was just him bragging about everything he'd done for the Sea Kingdom and Pyrrhia and all the scrolls he'd written."

Crystal snorted. "That sounds awful. Living in a huge underwater palace where your primary job is listening to a boring old SeaWing tell stories," she teased Torrent. "C'mon, let's get going, we've still got a little more walking before we get to the SandWing market."

The two continued on into, deeper into the western city. As they continued on, the architecture became distinctly different than that of the SkyWings'. Instead of the sharp, triangular roofs of the SkyWing buildings, these buildings had flat roofs, with the occasional dragon peering off them at the procession of SandWings and SkyWings below. The buildings had square or rectangular bases, and were made out of a yellowish-orange stone, although many of the ones closer to the riverbank had a strange mix of the grey SkyWing stone used on the other side of the huge river.

Crystal was scanning the crowds, quickly turning back her head back and forth. Torrent glanced over to her. "What are you looking for? Thieves?"

She shook her head, her faint blue scales flickering in the harsh sunlight. "No, there was a SandWing I met my last time through, and I was wondering if he was still here."

"Oh," Torrent replied with a hint of dismay. He looked around the market square. "What did he look like?"

"He had golden-brown scales, and his horns curved slightly outward," she answered.

Torrent frowned a little, and looked around at the river of SandWings and SkyWings pushing past. There were plenty who fit that description. "Anything else?"

Crystal thought for a moment, then shook her head. "C'mon, let's get to the market, maybe he'll be there."

The two pushed through the crowd and reached a large square in the middle of the SandWing city. Various stone buildings bordered the open area, usually consisting of some sort of shop on the bottom floor. A tall square clocktower rose at the other end of the market-square, with the hands of the clock moving slowly. In the middle of the square was a raised platform, just large enough for a single dragon to take off in flight or land. A number of SkyWings, along with a few MudWings, circled above the area, impatiently waiting for their turn to land, as a yelling SandWing below signaled to them that it was their turn.

The rest of the square was filled with small stalls and a mass of dragons. A few looked like they might have been at one time been arranged in rows, but apparently they had somehow broken free of this arrangement, and were now randomly strewn around the stone square. Wafts of smoked meat hit Torrent's snout, and he had to take a step back. Shouts of vendors filled the air as more dragons pushed past the two, trying to get in or out of the marketplace.

"Follow me," Crystal said, grabbing Torrent's wing with a claw and pulling him along. The bazaar was like nothing Torrent had ever experienced. Sure, there were markets in the Sea Kingdom, but they were quiet, serene, placid. The bright lights of furious flashing in Aquatic was the most overwhelming thing that went on in there.

Crystal pulled Torrent up to a vendor on the edge of the square. "I'd like two of the spiced mutton legs," she shouted over the roar of the crowd. She pulled out one of the coins from a pouch, and handed it to the SandWing vendor, who returned two golden-brown lamb legs and a few smaller coins. She put the coins back her in pouch, then put the mutton leg in Torrent's talons.

He put his snout up against it and took a breath in, his belly gurgling. All they had been eating for the last two months was salted goat and yak meat, and he had gotten pretty tired of it by now. He quickly pulled off a large portion of the mutton with his sharp, shark-like teeth, and instantly regretted it.

Crystal laughed as she bit into a much smaller piece. "Spicy, isn't it?" she asked, chewing on her bit. Torrent nodded, his eyes watering up.

"Yeah," he muttered, after mustering enough strength to swallow the rest of the piece he had bitten off. It stung in the back of his throat. He stuck out his forked tongue, as if that would help.

"Sorry, probably should've warned you," Crystal smiled. "Northern SandWing cuisine is some of the spiciest in Pyrrhia; it takes a bit of time to warm up to."

Torrent nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I can tell," he snorted. "Is IceWing food as bad?"

Crystal shook her head. "Definitely not. It's mostly seal, polar bear, penguin, and fish. Salty, fatty, and bland."

"I know the taste," Torrent replied, "we ate a lot of fish back in the Sea Kingdom, with the occasional shark. Is that a RainWing?" He pointed over towards a stall closer to the center of the market. Dragons of all tribes were crowded around it, forming some semblance of a line. Behind the stall was a slim green dragon standing up on his hind legs and a huge grin. His wings were stretched out wide, with bright colors swirling across them to attract the attention of potential customers. Fruits of all shapes and sizes were placed across the counter, along with a series of small wooden goblets.

"I don't know what else it would be," Crystal replied, "let's go check him out!"

She walked to what might have been the end of the line for the RainWing's stall, Torrent following. The SkyWing in front of the two gave them a strange look as they got behind her, but quickly turned away.

"Want your fortune while you wait?" a voice quickly asked.

Torrent turned to the left to see a small stall. Pumice rocks, chunks of volcanic glass, and strangely colored crystals lined the counter. The stall's owner was a small dragon of a kind Torrent had never seen before. His scales were a strange dark yellow, and small dots of white stood out in a line of scales along his neck. He had short spines along his back-ridge, but with a small sail between them, sort of like the webbing between Torrent's own spines. "Well?" he asked.

Crystal glanced over at him and gave the dragon a little squint. "A NightWing?" she asked, with a hint of disdain.

"Only half," the hybrid smiled. "Don't worry, I don't sting; I've got no barb."

"Can you actually tell fortunes?" Crystal asked skeptically. She didn't trust NightWings much, even only half of one.

The hybrid tossed his wings back and forth. "Sometimes. If I don't get anything, you don't have to pay me."

"Yeah, no thanks," Crystal snorted. "I'd prefer to use my money more wisely."

"How about this," the hybrid said, turning to Torrent, "I'll give you two readings for the price of one, it's not much."

Torrent debated a little. It's not like it could hurt much. "Sure, why not," he replied, looking over at Crystal. "C'mon, it'll be fun."

Crystal sighed and rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, then pulled out a few coins from her pouch and placed them in the hybrid's claws. He grinned and set it down to the side. "Now, put your talons in mine."

Crystal did so hesitantly, and the hybrid closed his eyes, breathing softly. "I think I see something," he murmured quietly. _It's totally fake,_ Crystal mouthed over to Torrent.

"I see a statue of you," the hybrid replied, "in a room of clear ice. You're not alone." He took another breath in. "There's another IceWing there too, his wings are tucked in. He has a small golden bracelet around his left forearm, a dark purple stone inlaid within it."

Crystal suddenly took her claws back from the hybrid, and he opened his eyes. She gave him a glare. "Well?" he asked. "Are you satisfied?"

"Yes," she muttered, a little nervous. She had left the Darkstone back in Avalanche's house with Schist and Griffin, it had to be safe. And she was a traitor, why would there be a statue of her in the palace? Unless . . . what if the Darkstone had worked, and she'd used it to become a true animus. Was that even possible? And if she had . . . Crystal turned to Torrent. Torrent's dagger could turn animus dragons to stone — what if he'd used it on her?

"Your turn?" the hybrid said, turning to Torrent. The large SeaWing placed his large webbed paws into the hybrid's, as the hybrid closed his eyes and hummed.

"I see an island," the hybrid spoke, "but with no water around it. Instead of an ocean, there's just sand, with dead and decaying fish all around it. There are sharp rocks sticking up from the dry sea all, and there is a large cliff around every side of the island. The top is a dead forest, the trees all burnt stumps."

 _The Summer Palace?_ Torrent wondered, recognizing the description. _Why would it be burnt? And why would the ocean have suddenly dried up?_

"Red and yellow dragons are circling around the top. SkyWings, I think," he continued, "and a crown is lying in the sand, split in two. There are lights dancing in the sky, green and purple."

"An aurora?" Crystal asked. The hybrid nodded.

"A what?" Torrent wondered.

"Colorful lights appear in the Ice Kingdom sky occasionally," Crystal explained, "you wouldn't get them in the Sea Kingdom, you're too far south."

Torrent frowned a little. "Maybe the SkyWings win the war?" he asked with a little worry.

The hybrid smiled and shook his wings back and forth. "I'm just the messenger, I've got no clue," he admitted, "but good luck to you both." He turned away from Torrent and Crystal to the next dragon in line for the RainWing's stand, a elderly SandWing. "Fortunes told at cheap prices here!" he shouted.

Torrent and Crystal turned away, and continued walking forward. Crystal normally didn't trust prophecies and visions (or NightWings in general, for that matter), but if he had described the Darkstone, then it had to be legit, right? It seemed like it was too much to just be a coincidence. Yet, it's not like the vision made much sense — Crystal was a traitor to the IceWings, there's no way Queen Glacier would create a statue in her honor. Maybe a future IceWing queen would pardon Crystal and induct her as a hero for preventing Glacier from causing a MudWing genocide? Possible, but unlikely. Blackice was the only daughter of Queen Glacier, she'd been banished for her war crimes, and she didn't seem like the type who'd take kindly to Crystal taking the Darkstone. Glacier didn't have any living sisters or female cousins, though maybe Prince Narwhal would have a daughter in the future if he married. She supposed Glacier would probably have another daughter, eventually.

Torrent was slightly less concerned about his vision than Crystal. Sure, it would be pretty awful if the SkyWings attacked the Summer Palace, but it wasn't like it would involve him if they did. He had left the Sea Kingdom for good, and didn't even know if he could still breathe underwater. All of that — Orca, palaces, queens and kings, the salty waters of the Bay — it was far behind him now, half a continent away.

"Well?" a dragon asked, interrupting Torrent and Crystal's thoughts. "You don't seem like you're from around here."

Crystal turned to attention. They had reached the front of the line, and the RainWing was grinning at them. "Sorry," she murmured, quickly reaching into her pouch to pull out a few shining coins. "Are you a RainWing?" she asked.

The RainWing snorted, and a quick succession of spirals flashed across his scales. "I sure hope so," he replied, "else I'd need a doctor to check me out pretty quick. So, have anything in particular you're looking for?"

Torrent looked closer at the stand. There was a wide variety of strange fruits on it, probably directly from the rainforest itself. He glanced over at Crystal, who pointed to a small obloid one with a skin of orange and green hues. The RainWing nodded, and grabbed it. With a quick stroke of a razor-sharp claw, he cut a circle around the middle of the fruit, and peeled away the skin a short distance. He handed it to Crystal, who poked the soft orange insides. The only fruit they commonly ate in the Ice Kingdom were berries, and although she had gotten a little more variety while living on the SandWing border, it wasn't something she'd ate a ton of.

"Mango. Good choice," the RainWing explained. "Would you care for some cacao? It's extremely popular."

"Sure?" Crystal asked, unsure what it was. The RainWing grinned and passed over two of the goblets. Crystal in return handed over the coins she owed. She and Torrent took the goblets in their claws and backed away from the stand.

Torrent took a large sip of the drink in the goblet, a thick liquid the color of a dark wood. He grimaced a little. "It's bitter," he muttered.

Crystal laughed. "I'd have thought you'd have learned your lesson on taking big samples already." She took a sip. It was like nothing she'd ever tasted, extremely rich and bitter, like Torrent had described, but with hints of cinnamon and a strange flavor she couldn't describe. "I like it," she commented, quickly finishing off her drink and returning the goblet to the RainWing, who by now was serving the next customer.

Torrent drank a little more, swallowing the rest of it down. Not really his favorite. "It's . . . interesting," he commented, placing the goblet on the counter.

Crystal cut off a piece of the orange fruit with her claw and handed it to Torrent. It was uncomfortably sticky, and fruit juices dripped down his talon uncomfortably as he grabbed. He took a small nibble, finally realizing his lesson, and nodded in enjoyment. "Sweet," he judged the fruit. He quickly gobbled up the rest.

Crystal took a bite of her piece, and licked her forked tongue across her sharp teeth. "Wow, you're right," she replied in a hint of surprise, "I think I might be looking forward to more of this when we go to the rainforest."

Torrent nodded, trying to pick out a strand of the mango that had gotten caught between his teeth. There was an animus in the rainforest, if he recalled correctly. He supposed that was where they would go next. He looked around a little at the crowd, and tapped a claw on the amethyst in his dagger. It was cold; there was no animus around.

"Ugh," he grumbled in frustration, "we should be searching for the animus here, not buying fruit from a RainWing."

Crystal grimaced a little. Torrent was right; they were ignoring their purpose. "Yeah," she sighed unhappily, "but a little bit of fun can't hurt, will it?"

Torrent shut his mouth, not wanting to argue with Crystal, even if he disagreed. Every moment wasted could mean another dragon being hurt.

Crystal easily noticed his expression of confliction, and wrapped her claws, sticky with mango juice, around his own. "It's alright," she said, looking directly into his eyes. "Animus magic or not, dragons will get hurt, and die. You can't stop that, and you don't have to; what we've done, and what we will do, is good enough."

The idea of dragons dying no matter what didn't particularly make Torrent feel better, but he smiled a little for Crystal. She wrapped a wing over his backside and pulled him a little closer, her scales slightly cold to the touch. He moved a little closer, welcoming her embrace.

She nuzzled him on the neck, her frigid breath steaming slightly against his scales. "C'mon, let's get our stuff for Avalanche," she suggested, breaking free and pulling Torrent towards a stall selling copious amounts of overpriced meat.

After buying a large cooked pig, the two headed back towards the blue-shingled house, claw-in-claw.


	47. Chapter 46

Clouds had formed over the cities as the two finished crossing the bridge, returning to the SkyWing town. A gentle drizzle had begun over the town, and small droplets of water were scattered around the road. Crystal glanced up at the grey skies overhead.

"We should hurry," she suggested, not wanting to get caught in the middle of a storm.

"Why?" Torrent asked, oblivious. "It's still the afternoon."

Crystal pointed a claw upwards. "It looks like it's going to rain soon." Torrent looked at her with a puzzled expression, wondering why that meant they should hurry. Crystal sighed. _SeaWings._ "I don't want to get wet, and I doubt Avalanche would be happy if her meal is soaked."

"Ah," Torrent nodded, only somewhat understanding. "What's that?" He pointed a claw at a small furry creature beneath an alcove, watching the two pass by.

"It's a cat," Crystal explained, "they're common around the SandWing-IceWing border. They're sometimes kept as pets. It's not poisonous or anything, it'll just run away if you get too near it."

Torrent decided to try this out, and took a step closer, poking his snout towards the cat. Sure enough, the cat jumped onto a small fencepost nearby, then quickly scrambled to a safe distance away to resume watching Crystal, his blue eyes almost glowing in the overcast weather.

"I think it's looking at you," Torrent pointed out. Crystal frowned a little. Strange. There were a few other SkyWings around, walking past the two, but the cat seemed to only be staring directly at Crystal.

"C'mon, let's go," Crystal told Torrent. With the hybrid's prophecies, she'd had enough creepiness for today. The lumbering SeaWing nodded, and continued after her as she paced down the main road. She glanced back, and sure enough, the cat was following her. A second had joined behind it.

The two turned a corner, and started down a narrow corridor, leading closer to the blue-shingled house where Avalanche, Griffin, and Schist were. Two SkyWings were walking in the opposite direction, laughing and chatting. As they passed Torrent and Crystal, they suddenly went silent, and gave the two quick glares. Torrent ignored the two and continued on, not bothering to care for their stares.

"Look," Crystal suddenly hissed, almost a whisper. In front of them, five more cats lined their path, two on one side of the street, and the other three across from them. All had their large eyes aimed at Crystal and Torrent, patiently sitting down. Crystal turned back, to see the first tabby. He quickly ran past the IceWing and the SeaWing, then turned back, as if beckoning them to go forward.

"Do you think they're enchanted?" Torrent asked Crystal. Realizing he could check for himself, he pulled out his dagger and placed a talon along the purple amethyst. It was cold to the touch. "They're not," he replied, answering the IceWing's unasked question.

Crystal flicked a forked tongue in and out of her teeth warily, and continued walking down the narrow road. As she passed each of the five cats, they stood up and started to walk behind her and Torrent, as if they were leading a procession. Torrent stopped and stuck a claw out to poke one, though it backed away casually from his touch.

Suddenly, Crystal whipped around and opened her mouth, letting forth a burst of frostbreath onto the ground to serve as a warning to the furry mammals. The cats nearest to the blast scrambled backwards, then continued walking behind her, this time at a greater distance, avoiding the disk of frost and ice that now covered part of the pathway. She snarled at them angrily, and continued walking, tiny droplets of water now drizzling down.

The blue-shingled roof was now within sight, and the blue-eyed tabby was almost there. Torrent, his dagger still out, walked behind Crystal, his head towering above hers. More cats, maybe twenty or thirty, Torrent wasn't sure, stood at attention on the sides of the path. Crystal gulped uncertainly as the brown tabby pushed open the door to Avalanche's house just a crack, and trotted inside, its damp coat rubbing against the doorway.

The two slowly walked past the cats lining the walkway, Torrent's dagger out and ready, but they didn't meet any resistance. Crystal reached the door, and pushed it open. It created a creaking sound as Torrent followed.

Avalanche was in the room with an unhappy expression on her snout as she looked up at the two, clawing the ground in irritation. Griffin and Schist were nearby; a tiny feline different from the one they had seen before attempting to pounce at Griffin's furred and feathered tail, as he swished it up and out of the kitten's reach with a hearty grin across his beak. A fourth dragon Torrent had never seen before was in the center of the room, sitting down as five or so cats lay down next to him, nestling on the inside of his curled tail for comfort.

The brown tabby which had walked inside of the door was rubbing up against the dragon's forearms and wings warmly, the dragon's scales a silvery-black with a faint orange tone behind them. The dragon flicked his tongue out and placed a paw on the gently purring cat, tapping the tabby's fur with each of his claws in succession.

"Thank you, my friend," he said looking down to the cat. The NightWing turned his head up to the two dragons who had just entered. "Hello, Crystal," he murmured, attempting poorly to make a smile.

"You!" Crystal hissed with a frown. She hadn't realized it before, but the brown tabby was the same cat that had been with the NightWing when she'd first met him. "You were back in the Sky Kingdom."

The NightWing nodded. "Yes, after Nautilus died. I remember you." The brown tabby looked up at Crystal curiously, his bright blue eyes almost blazing.

"You asked me to give you the Darkstone," she growled, her face contorted between a snarl and a smirk. "Well guess what? It saved Schist's _life_. So screw you."

Trustbreaker nodded. "He has told me about it. I'm sorry I asked you. As I mentioned, it was Fracture who wanted me to. The next time I see him, I'll tell him he was wrong again."

Crystal gave Trustbreaker a glare. The second NightWing she had seen today, if she included the hybrid. "What, couldn't see the future?"

Trustbreaker snorted a little. "Believe me, if I could see the future, I wouldn't be here with you today. Unfortunately, that's not a power that's granted to all NightWings." He turned over to Torrent, who was thoroughly confused by all this talk. "I'm Trustbreaker."

Torrent gave him a intrigued look, and opened his mouth to say something. Trustbreaker sighed. "My name bears no relation to my personality. Please, feel free to trust me, or not if you so choose."

Torrent looked at the NightWing a little strangely, then turned to Avalanche and back. "So, are you and Avalanche, you know . . . mates?"

The SkyWing sputtered in indignation. "Me and _him_?" she asked, almost angry that Torrent had suggested the idea, "SkyWings don't even _do_ mates, not that an ignorant SeaWing like you would know."

Torrent squinted a little in shame. He had known, but it hadn't really come to mind.

"Anyways, he's not available, if that's what you're asking," Avalanche smirked, "he's still fawning after a scavenger or something, if I recall."

Trustbreaker immediately stiffened up in embarrassment, and shot Avalanche a look as if to say _I told you not to talk about that_. Torrent sent him a curious, and slightly concerned expression, and the NightWing sighed. "It's a long story, and not something I care to discuss," he muttered, giving the SeaWing a glare of warning.

Torrent dropped the subject, and turned with a jolt to see a cat pawing at his tail. He shook his tail a little to throw the cat off, but that just made it go at him even more.

"So, if we're doing introductions, what's with all the cats?" Griffin suddenly spoke up. "I mean, they're sort of cute and all, and I don't really mind them, but just . . . why?"

Avalanche laughed in indignation, and interrupted Trustbreaker before he spoke. "They're his slaves or something," she hissed out, "some type of evil mind-control or something."

Trustbreaker sighed and gritted his teeth, evidently frustrated with Avalanche's snarky comments. "I'm a mind-reader," he muttered quietly, tapping a claw to a strangely dull scale behind his left eye.

Torrent immediately froze up, and tried to stop thinking about whatever he wasn't thinking. _Don't think about Orca, don't think about my dagger, don't think about Crys —_

"So it's true?" Crystal spurted out, her claws scraping against the ground. "NightWings can actually read minds and tell prophecies?" Of course, every dragon in Pyrrhia knew the legends and the powers of the mysterious NightWings, especially the IceWings, but this, along with the hybrid back in the market, confirmed the fact.

Trustbreaker nodded. "Some of us, but not all. Our powers come from the moons, and depending on the weather of the night that we're hatched and how many moons are full, we can get the powers you've described." He looked away uncomfortably, as if he wasn't particularly pleased to be explaining this.

Avalanche tapped her talons on the ground and snapped her teeth at a cat which had gotten too close to her, making it run off. "You've gotten pretty full of yourself, calling yourself a mind-reader," she commented.

The NightWing sighed. Finding Avalanche irritating was something he and Crystal had in common. "I was born under one full moon, but the weather was a bit cloudy that night, so my powers never fully . . . developed."

Crystal gave him a hard stare. "Go on," she growled. She wanted to hear more about this. The NightWings were always so secretive with their powers, it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hear about them or see them in such detail. If she had still been under Queen Glacier's service, this would have been critical information.

"I'm unable to receive more than the basest of emotions from dragons," he replied. "Extreme pain, fear, and glee, yes, but little else. And most of the time, you don't need a mind-reader to tell that."

"And . . . cats?" Crystal started to guess.

Trustbreaker nodded. "I'm able to read animals much more clearly, much more so than the other readers I grew up with, and can even relay. Cats, lizards — "

"Scavengers," Avalanche interrupted with a sneer.

" — and gryphons, apparently," the NightWing finished.

Griffin's feathers immediately stood on end in concern. "Wait, you can read my mind?" he asked. "So, what am I thinking right now?" _How many dragon tribes are there in Pyrrhia?_

"Seven," Trustbreaker replied with a slight snap of annoyance. "Believe me, I can hear you loud and clear."

"Oh boy," Griffin muttered, glancing over at Schist quickly. "Can you . . . not read my mind?"

"I can attempt," the NightWing answered, "but trust me, I won't share any of your thoughts."

 _Trust a dragon named Trustbreaker,_ Griffin though, _that's rich._

The NightWing gave him a sigh of disappointment, and Griffin gulped a little. "Yeah, you know what I'm thinking, right."

Trustbreaker turned to the three dragons looking at him. "Anything else?" he asked in exasperation.

"Relay?" Schist spoke up.

"Yes," Trustbreaker said, with just the faintest hint of pride, "it's something few NightWing mind-readers are able to do. When I reach far enough into one of my companions' thoughts, so much so that it becomes difficult to tell our minds apart, I'm able to communicate directly with them. It's entirely voluntary for them to follow me, of course, but that's something my friend Sapphire helps me with."

He glanced down at the brown tabby in front of him, the tabby's bright blue eyes gleaming like sapphires. Trustbreaker raised his right talons, and Sapphire raised a paw in unison. The NightWing then set down his talons and raised his other forepaw, the cat following his motions. After he was done, Sapphire turned back to Trustbreaker, rubbing his coat against the NightWing's silvery-black scales and purring loudly.

"Three moons, he's creepy," Crystal muttered under her breath to Torrent.

Torrent nodded, and glanced over at Griffin with a hint of concern before turning to Avalanche and throwing down the pig he had bought in front of her. "Happy?" he asked.

Avalanche licked her teeth. "A little wet, but good enough for tonight." She dragged the cooked meat towards herself and gently dug a claw into it.

"So, do you have any idea about an animus nearby?" the SeaWing asked as Avalanche was picking at a small piece of meat.

She thought for a moment. "Nope, never heard of one here. Don't go out too much. Trustbreaker?"

The NightWing tensed up for a moment, as if preparing for Avalanche to say something rude. "What?" he asked, with a growl in his throat.

Avalanche sighed. "Animus dragons. In the cities. Have you seen any?"

Trustbreaker closed his silver-scaled eyes, trying to recall something. "I believe so. One of my cats saw something a few weeks ago, a large SandWing. He had jewelry hanging around his neck, necklaces and amulets, with two fangs of a dragonbite viper on one of his necklaces. Two silver snakes were wrapped around each of his horns. He was seemingly moving pieces of gold with his mind."

"Sure sounds like an animus to me. Far too much jewelry seems pretty suspect," Torrent snorted.

Avalanche frowned a little. "I think I know the dragon you're talking about," she said. "His name's Gila. He's a crime lord in the western city. I've seen him once or twice in the markets; he's a pretty big deal there."

Torrent snorted, and started to turn, ready to leave the house. He glanced back to see that Crystal hadn't followed him as he expected. "Well?" he asked. "Aren't we going to go find him?" Avalanche let out a small snort.

"It's late," Crystal pointed out, "and if he's a crime lord, he's bound to have protection of some sort. You can only turn animus dragons to stone, right?"

Torrent grumbled a little.

"The IceWing is right," Avalanche pointed out with a smirk. "But I think I might know a way to help you."


	48. Chapter 47

"Gila isn't the only crime lord here," Avalanche explained. "He has a rival, a mongrel named Evergreen."

"Mongrel?" Schist asked in confusion.

"She's a hybrid," Crystal explained, "it means she's got a parent from two different tribes." She turned to Avalanche. "By her name, part IceWing and —"

"— and part SkyWing," Avalanche grunted, annoyed she had been interrupted. "Unimportant. But what is important is that she hates Gila, and I'm sure she would be delighted to have some help in getting rid of him."

"If he's actually an animus, I can do that," Torrent notified her, "I'll just need to get nearby without anyone else interfering."

"Do we really have to kill him?" Schist quickly asked.

"Yes!" Torrent and Crystal answered, responding in unison. They exchanged glances for a moment, then Torrent explained. "He's a crime lord, so he's definitely an evil dragon. I'm sure he's already hurt or killed others with his powers. If we can stop him, think of how much we'll be helping the city!"

"That's not even considering what he _could_ do in the future," Crystal put forth. "He could kill or enslave all the dragons here with just a few words, if he chose to. If he's already made a ton of enchantments, he'll have lost a lot of his soul already, and is an extreme danger to everyone."

"Fine," Schist muttered in concesion.

Torrent turned back to Avalanche. "So, do you know we can find this Evergreen?"

The SkyWing bobbed her head back and forth a little, then looked over to Trustbreaker, tapping a claw on one of his horns.

"One of my cats lives by a small mansion where an Ice-Sky hybrid lives. The mansion is on this side of the river, about a mile north of where we are now," the gunmetal-scaled NightWing muttered. "One of the hybrid's bodyguards feeds him pieces of fresh fish occasionally, when no one else is looking, but the other guard chases him off ever time he goes near. He wants to claw the second one's eyes out, especially after she almost singed his tail. Once, the SkyWi —"

"That's enough," Avalanche hissed, slightly amused. "I know the place, I've seen it a few times when flying. There's a large garden around it."

"Thank you for the help," Griffin quickly told the two.

"The quicker you find him, the sooner we can leave," she snorted. "You're not going to go find Evergreen now, are you?"

Crystal glanced out the door. It was dark, and the drizzle earlier had started to turn into a downpour. "We'll wait until tomorrow morning," she suggested. "I doubt Evergreen would be happy if we came by so late."

Avalanche nodded, picking strands of pork out of her teeth. "Well then, stay quiet at least. I'm shutting my eyes, and you don't want to see me when I haven't had enough sleep."

The next morning, the rain had stopped, and the bright morning sun shone down upon the cities, evaporating the puddles in the road. Torrent woke to a cat gently kneading at some of the scales beneath his arm. He shook the critter off, and glanced around. It was late; he had overslept again.

"Finally awake, are you?" Crystal smiled, looking down. She was alright up, slowly stroking an orange-furred feline. Avalanche and Trustbreaker were in a corner of the cluttered room, and based on the intensity of their conversation, they were arguing about something. Sapphire was at his NightWing's claws, walking around and between his legs. Griffin stood in the opposite corner of the room, looking anxiously at the NightWing across the room, Schist standing next to him and trying to comfort the small feathered creature.

"Ugh," Torrent grumbled, frustrated that he had slept in. He felt his side, checking that his dagger was still there, and slowly stood up, stretching out his wings. Without another glance, he started towards the door, not wanting any more delays. As he reached towards the handle, he noticed Crystal standing behind him, ready to go.

"You don't have to go; I can do this alone," Torrent muttered. This would be easier if no one else was with him, and he didn't want to put anyone else in danger again.

Crystal snorted. " _Sure_ you can. Just like you took out Magma alone, right?"

"This is different, he doesn't have firescales," the SeaWing protested. "I'm just going to meet with Evergreen anyways."

"All the more reason for Schist and I to come with you," Crystal responded, Torrent gritted his teeth a little, slightly insulted. "You can be a little direct sometimes," Crystal teased. "Not that it's always a bad thing, of course."

"Wait, me?" asked Schist as he turned away from Griffin, hearing his name said.

"Yep! I decided that you were going to come with us," Crystal notified.

"I mean . . . is it really a good idea?" the MudWing asked uncomfortably. "What if I scare off Evergreen or something?"

"All the better," Crystal replied, giving Avalanche a cold glare. The SkyWing was too enthralled in her conversation with Trustbreaker to return it. "If she's a crime lord, then having your scars and Torrent's size for intimidation will be a positive. I don't want her to think of us as incapable for the job."

"But what if we are?" Schist quickly asked.

"We're not," Crystal assured him. She held up a paw and moved the diamond she'd enchanted to heal between her talons. "And if it turns out one of us gets hurt, I've always got this piece of seal-dung to technically heal us."

Schist nervously walked over towards Crystal, then turned back to Griffin. "What about him?" he asked.

Crystal looked a little bit grim. "He'll have to stay back here, I think," she glanced over towards Griffin with a little bit of regret, "sorry, I don't really see a way to hide you safely."

Griffin nodded in understanding before glancing over at Trustbreaker again. "Yeah," he murmured, "I'll be fine, don't worry. Ground support."

"Let's just get going, alright?" Torrent snapped impatiently. He pushed open the door and trotted out it, ducking his head so that his horns wouldn't knock against the doorframe. Crystal followed closely behind, with Schist on her tail, his scales stiff in anxiety.

Fortunately, Crystal remembered the location of Evergreen's mansion, and it wasn't long before they had found it. The house stood out like a backwards scale, much larger and expansive than the others around it. A fence was positioned around the columned building, with a green garden positioned between the border and the actual building. Two SkyWings lazily stood at the entrance of the fence like RainWings, watching for any intrusions half-asleep. When the three dragons arrived, they lifted their heads up, alert to the strange-looking group of dragons.

"Yes?" one asked cautiously as soon as he was sure that the three weren't just passing by.

"What do you want?" the other hissed angrily. "We don't allow visitors or proselytizers."

"We're here to speak to Evergreen," Crystal opened with, stepping in front of Schist and Torrent.

" _Lady_ Evergreen," the second guard corrected with a growl.

"Lady Evergreen," Crystal said with a smile. "We have an offer we think she might be interested in."

"As I said, no proselytisers." Schist noticed a small cat peeking a furry snout out of the hedges behind the fence, staring intently at the scene. Maybe it was Trustbreaker, keeping an eye on them. Poor Griffin.

Crystal continued to smile. "Don't worry. We're looking to settle something with a SandWing named Gila, and I believe it might be in her interests to hear us out."

"She's not interested," the SkyWing hissed, getting more infuriated by the second, "now get out of my sight, or I'l — "

The other SkyWing suddenly whispered something in his fellow guard's ear. She turned back to him with a glare, and sighed. "Fine," the SkyWing said in annoyance. "I'll let you in, but don't even think about trying anything, or I'll rip all your throats out myself."

She trotted down the path to the mansion and unlocked the doorway with a small key around her neck, then walked into the house. Crystal, Torrent, and Schist followed closely behind, with the other guard guarding them from the back. The cat quickly lept onto a windowsill that seemed far too high for it to jump, and continued around the corner of the building.

The mansion was nice, but slightly cramped for Torrent, who had to duck his head to avoid tangling his horns in a chandelier. A sole stairwell stood in the middle of the entryway, which the SkyWing headed up, the three following. The group was ushered into a hallway with a formidable working wooden door at the end. The SkyWing knocked on the door. "Lady Evergreen, you have company."

After a moment, she received a reply that the others couldn't hear. She nodded, even though the dragon behind the room couldn't hear her, and opened the doorway, gesturing the three in.

Beyond the door was a large room, with portraits of a few SkyWings on the side walls and two maps hanging a large desk in the middle: one of Pyrrhia, and the other of the two cities. The desk of fine wood in the center had two figures of gold flanking the end, elephants with diamonds for eyes. Gold highlights laced the desk, and the large chair the dragon sat in was decorated in a similar fashion, apparently intended to resemble a throne. Diamonds and rubies dotted wood, sparkling in the faint light coming from scented candles.

The dragon curled up in the falsetto throne was clearly not your normal SkyWing nor IceWing. Spines like icicles dressed her back, with a ring of silver painted around each one. These, and the rest of her scales, were all a pale rose-gold. Thin curved horns which looked far too long jutted out from the back of her skull. Her tail wrapped around behind her and curved up onto the desk, short blood-red spikes coming out of its base and gently resting on a section of the desk with scratches that had been repainted many times over, causing that area to take on a color distinctly lighter than the rest of the wood.

Evergreen looked towards the three visitors with a hint of scorn, tapping a talon with a ring that looked like it could have belong to Queen Coral. "Well?" she asked expectantly, as if irritated by the interruption.

Crystal stepped forward again as the representative. "Lady Evergreen, I am Crystal," she introduced herself, "and these are Torrent and Schist. We've heard that you've had troubles with a SandWing named Gila, and would like to put an end to this."

"You wish to kill him for me?" the hybrid asked in amusement, swirling her talon in a circle. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

"He's an animus," Torrent pointed out.

Evergreen looked unsurprised. "Yes, I know. Is that what you wanted? To inform me of something I've known for what, years?"

Torrent shook his head. "No. I can kill him for you easier that way." He waved a paw at Crystal and Schist. "We're, err, animus hunters. We track down and kill animus dragons."

If Evergreen was intrigued, she didn't show it. She glanced over at the three in skepticism.

"See," Torrent explained, "I have this dagger." He reached towards the sheath hanging around his body and had barely touched the hilt when the SkyWing guard had pummeled into Torrent, pushing the larger SeaWing to the ground. She quickly grabbed Torrent's paw and twisted it upwards while pinning his head to the ground with her long wing. With a quick tug, Torrent yelled and dropped the dagger to the floor.

Torrent gave the SkyWing a growl as Evergreen motioned for her to let him go. "I'm sorry," the SkyWing said, "I thought he was going for his weapon."

Evergreen nodded, and turned back to Torrent, who very slowly picked up the dagger with his other paw and set it back down into its sheath. "As I was saying," he grumbled, "I'm able to use it to prevent animus magic from working if I can get close enough to him. And if I do that, he's dead."

Evergreen flicked her tongue out a little, and thought for a moment. She looked over towards the sole window into her room, where the cat from earlier was now looking in, then quickly returned her attention to Torrent. "I'll give you a chance, but if anyone asks, you're not with me. Deal?"

Torrent nodded anxiously.

"Later tonight, Gila is planning to make a large deal with some MudWings selling weapons of some sort on the northwest docks," Evergreen explained with a smile. "He'll be there himself, presumably to make sure everything goes according to plan. I'll arrange for you to be escorted there, and give you back-up if he has bodyguards. You'll have your chance then."

"Thank you," Crystal replied cautiously, glancing back at Torrent and Schist. "We'll serve you well."

The hybrid nodded, tracing out a figure out with her ringed talon in the desk. "You will be meeting with Boulder, who will be taking you to Gila, outside my house at sunset."


	49. Chapter 48

When the three dragons had returned to the front of Evergreen's house, the sun was just inches above the horizon, and the clouds in front were lit up a orange-ish gold, like a SkyWing's scales. The two guards that were guarding the hybrid's mansion earlier in the day were still there, their eyes drooping slightly. Crystal grimaced, thinking about how hot it would be for them in the summer, standing outside in the dry desert sun for the entire day.

Neither of the two SkyWings gave the three any attention, and there didn't seem to be any other SkyWings here to meet them. Schist looked left and right, then stepped up to the guards. "Excuse me," he asked, "do you know where Boulder is?"

He got no response; both SkyWings stood perfectly still. Crystal frowned in suspicion; did something go wrong already?

Torrent moved forward, putting head up against the male SkyWing's face, breathing up against his scales. "Where is Boulder?" he growled.

"He'll be here soon," the SkyWing uncomfortably responded. "Please be patient."

Torrent backed away with a snort, and looked back towards the setting sun. Over in that direction would be the Great Five-Tail River. The sun had just started to dip below the horizon.

Boulder arrived just after the sun had become completely hidden from view, five other SkyWings following behind him. Boulder was a compact, mean-looking SkyWing with a thick scar running from beneath his chin, down his neck, and onto his underbelly, although it was nothing compared to Schist's burns. He scanned over the three dragons like he was judging their chance of success, then turned to the two guards.  
"These are them?" he asked gruffly. "Interesting group. Pretty young."

The female guard nodded. "Apparently, Evergreen agrees," she sneered. "Are we ready?"

Boulder nodded, glancing back at the three. "Until we get to Gila, you'll follow my every instruction," he ordered menacingly. "One misplaced step, and you'll pay for it."  
"Fine," Torrent grumbled apathetically. If he had to follow some irritating dragon to get to his target, so be it. Schist quickly nodded his head in agreement.

Crystal agreed cautiously. She didn't particularly like working with Evergreen, or crime bosses in general, but it wasn't as if there was a better option here. Hopefully, he'd get them safely to Gila, and all would be well.

Boulder spread open his wide wings as the night began, and quickly pushed down, gaining the lift required. "This way!" he shouted to the others. The five other SkyWings beat down their wings in unison, and took off after Boulder. Torrent and Crystal followed after, with Schist having some trouble with his right wing.

"Stay low!" Boulder yelled behind him as the other dragons flew across the Great Five-Tail River, a faint after-glow of the sunset lighting it up. The many lanterns in the two cities had started to be lit, and tiny specks of light were appearing around the area. The group weren't the only dragons crossing the river at this time — plenty of SandWings and SkyWings were doing the same, possibly returning on a commute. Schist was straggling behind the others, much to Boulder's annoyance, struggling to just keep up.

Eventually, they reached the other shore, and Boulder motioned the nine dragons to touch down in a small clearing. "We're walking the rest of the way north," he told Torrent, Crystal, and Schist. "Stay out of sight."

The nine trudged on through narrow alleyways, dark and empty. A few times, Torrent thought he saw a SandWing or two in the darkness, but they seemed to avoid the group that walked past. Boulder gave them a quick glance each, but other than that, he paid them no heed.

Eventually, their path moved closer to the river's west shoreline, and Torrent saw the water in the distance, looking very appealing to his tired paws. His webbed feet were meant for swimming, not walking, and considering the small number of SeaWings living here, he'd be absolutely invisible underwater. Even if his gills didn't work so well due to Magma's attack, he could come up above the surface if he needed to breath, and any dragons watching would barely notice in the darkness.

Torrent quickened his walking to match pace with Boulder. "I could swim," he suggested, "no one would notice me."

Boulder gave the SeaWing a cold stare. "No," he ordered without providing an explanation.

"I'd be able to get to Gila quicker and more silently," Torrent protested in annoyance.

Boulder suddenly stopped walking, almost causing the SkyWing behind to trip on Boulder's tail. "I said no," he growled. "If you can't follow directions, then you shouldn't be here with us."

Torrent grumbled and returned to his place in the line, and Boulder continued on. The SeaWing peeked out at the ocean again. Not too far a distance from where they were, three large piers jutted out from the shoreline, with a few ships, rafts, and barges tied to it, and small wooden crates full of goods and supplies stacked up nearby. In the black darkness, Torrent could see a small ship in the middle of the river, slowly sailing towards the port.

It wasn't much longer before the nine reached the port, and Boulder motioned them to stop. "Best not get caught," he warned Torrent, Schist, and Crystal, "the authorities here are under Gila's payroll." He pointed a claw to the lantern-lit docks, crates stacked up all around the edges. A few SandWings were sitting around the entrance, muttering and chuckling to each other.

Boulder took his claws and waved them, signaling to the others to follow. The SkyWings quickly followed, with the three others behind. They walked cautiously onto the pier, hiding behind a tower of crates shielding them from the SandWing authorities' eyes. Torrent looked out to the river on the end of the pier, both of the two cities shining behind them. There didn't seem to be anyone looking from that direction, fortunately.

Before long, they reached a gap in the towers, where they would be in full sight of the SandWings. Boulder quickly poked his head around the corner, and signaled for the others to stop. When he saw an opening, the small SkyWing took it and ran across the gap. The rest of the dragons still behind, he used his claws to signal when they should run past. Before long, the five SkyWings that had come with Boulder were past, and no one had gotten caught so far.

Crystal was next. When Boulder set down his claws, she nimbly ran forward, with only a quick glance at the SandWings, oblivious to her presence. She reached the other side of the gap, and quickly tried to calm her heavy breath.

Schist stepped forward next, and looked up. A large net was strewn between the two crate towers, and smaller boxes and crates hung from the netting by thick ropes. One of them looked to contain a fruit of some sort, he couldn't tell the contents of the others. A harness was tied to the net at each corner so that it would hang beneath the dragons carrying it. It looked like some type of carrying net — if the goods were light enough, dragons might be able to carry it together in flight, a lot faster than using a boat or dragon a raft.

Torrent poked Schist, making sure to touch his left side, not his burnt right. The MudWing turned back to attention, Boulder was motioning for him to go. He quickly ran forward, hurrying across the gap to the other side. When he was clear, he took a breath of relief. It looked like he hadn't been caught.

It was now Torrent's turn. After what felt like far too long, Boulder motioned him forward. The large SeaWing ran forward in a rush, his tail hitting the planks below in his haste and making a muted thumping sound. Torrent tensed up, lifting his tail to avoid it hitting the ground again, and continued forward until he reached safety. Boulder gave him a quick glare, then turned back to watching the SandWing guards. Torrent frowned. If worse came to worst, they could take on a couple of SandWings, right? There were only two of them, and nine of his group.

Fortunately, it didn't come to that. After a moment, Boulder nodded, and the SkyWings in front continued on, still hidden by the crates.

The nine continued across the pier, the cities to their right, off the end of the dock. They soon reached the end, where Boulder pointed a claw to their left, at the end of the crate line. Crystal was the first to look around it. She saw a number of dragons in the faint lantern-light: a MudWing had out a large barrel of some sort, and Crystal was unable to see inside. A SandWing looked over it, grinning slightly, with jewelry around his neck and claws reflecting the faint light from the lanterns, and two silver snakes around his horns. He dipped his claws in the barrel, and what might have been a fine black sand fell through them as he pulled them out. Gila.

Crystal looked back to Torrent, and mouthed 'that's him.' Torrent touched a talon to the amethyst on his dagger, warm to the touch, confirming Crystal's observation.

Maybe twenty or so more SandWings were positioned in a semi-circle around Gila, and the small boat Torrent had seen earlier was behind the MudWing, on the other side of the pier, a large number of the barrels on its deck. More MudWings were on it, idling about as the one in front talked to Gila.

Crystal turned back to Boulder. "There are too many of them," she started to whisper.

Boulder put a claw out to silence her, then grabbed what looked like a small black disk from a pouch beneath his wing. He suddenly threw it over the end of the pier, into the ocean below. Black bubbles started to foam out from where it splashed in.

Crystal heard shouts from the SandWings and MudWings; Boulder had exposed their location. She turned to him. "You exposed us!" she started to hiss, thinking the SkyWing had betrayed her. She stretched out his claws, ready to go down fighting, and opened her mouth to prepare frostbreath.

He shook his head and pointed a dirty claw to the water, stained black by whatever he had thrown in. Suddenly, thin metal tubes that had been invisible in the darkness started to rise out of the river, red, orange, and yellow SkyWings holding them in their mouths. There were maybe fifty, although with so many dragons hidden in the water, it was hard to tell. The SkyWings charged out of the water and onto the pier, meeting the SandWings and MudWings to engage in battle.

"You have your chance," Boulder hissed at Torrent, Crystal, and Schist. "Make it worthwhile." He ran out from behind the crates with the five SkyWings, ready to join the frey.

Torrent pushed past Crystal into the open. It wouldn't do any good to hide anymore. The groups had engaged in battle, the SkyWings with more forces than the SandWings and MudWings combined. He saw a few shots of fire blasted and howls of pain stemming from them, lighting up the pier, but the majority of the battle was fought with claws and teeth for fear of setting the dock aflame.

"Look," Schist whispered, pointing a talon to the wooden boat. As the MudWings had abandoned it to fight alongside the SandWings on the pier, more SkyWings had climbed over the side, some with harnesses and nets similar to the one Schist had seen across the crates. As the MudWings realized what was happening and attempted to return to the boat, the harnessed SkyWings were quickly attaching barrels to the ropes on the net, as unharnessed SkyWings fought off the retreating MudWings.

A few of the nets took off, the SkyWings carrying the barrels upwards and towards the eastern shore of the river. Torrent saw a brave MudWing take into flight, and after evading one of the nets' escorts, clawed into one of the SkyWings, tearing into her wings as she screamed in pain. He grabbed ahold of her, and unable to hold up the weight of the two of them, the three other SkyWings attached to the net started falling towards the river beneath. Realizing they would be unable to recover, the SkyWings quickly attempted to unlatch the harnesses holding them to the net, and two were able to do it in time. The third desperately attempted to get it to release, but was unable to as water flooded into the barrels and he was dragged underwater with the other SkyWing, who had latched ahold of the MudWing, attempting in vain to drown with her a dragon who could hold his breath for an hour. Before long, the MudWing rushed back out of the water, blood seeping from his scales and staining the water around him.

Back at the ship, more SkyWings were attempting to take off with the barrels, with limited success due to the now aware MudWings, who had crowded aboard the ship. As another MudWing reached one of the harnessed SkyWings attempting to lift off, the SkyWing shot a burst of flame at her, narrowly missing the MudWing, but instead hitting a barrel that one of his allies had tied to her own net.

The MudWing that the SkyWing had aimed at yelled in alarm and attempted to scramble towards the edge of the ship into the water beneath, but was far too late. The barrel suddenly burst open, spreading burning wood and flame across the ship, creating a giant hole in the center of the deck to the hold. The battle suddenly stilled for a few awful moments, dragons suddenly realizing what was going to happen. Suddenly, the entire ship was blasted open, torn apart from its belly, along with the dragons that were on or too close to it. It was followed by the loudest noise Torrent had ever heard, a huge bang.  
Crystal suddenly grabbed Torrent and Schist, trying to pull them back behind the crates as a piece of flaming wood flew over them, into the water below. Torrent looked back at the scene of carnage, unable to hear what Crystal was yelling at him as a high-pitched noise rang through his ears. Parts of the pier were now set aflame, but the dragons were still fighting above their fallen comrades. A large part of the ship had landed on a net, and weighed the SkyWings down as they desperately tried to get free of the now flaming net. A SandWing on the pier had been impaled through the leg by a flaming piece of jagged wood, and screamed in fear and horror as the fire crept up her scales while she was pinned to the dock. Mutilated and charred corpses of MudWings and SkyWings sunk beneath the water where the boat had stood.

Moments later, the intense ringing and pain in Torrent's ears subsided, and he glanced around the dock. Gila was still there, outside of the continued fighting, nervously playing with a small amulet around his neck. Torrent took out his dagger with a swift motion, and walked towards the SandWing, stepping over the body of a SandWing with a piece of his throat hanging out from his limp neck.

Schist looked back towards the fighting from behind the crates. Boulder was still there, hanging out by the edges of the fight. By this point, it was clear who was winning. Even with all their losses, the SkyWings still outnumbered the other dragons, and with most of the MudWings gone, the SandWings had started to flee from battle. He stepped out nervously, Crystal behind him, and followed a fair ways after Torrent, shying away from the slowly spreading flames on the end of the dock.

Gila glanced over towards Torrent, the large SeaWing close to his location, and suddenly flipped a small rotating piece in the amulet he was wearing. Almost instantly, the roar of battle stopped, and the remaining SandWings and SkyWings froze in place, along with Crystal and Schist. Torrent glanced around at the rest of the pier. Even the flames were no longer flickering, as if they had been frozen in ice. The impaled SandWing's screams stopped and she went still, unable to move. Torrent and Gila were the only ones still moving around on the dock.

Gila started to casually make his escape, before realizing that Torrent had remained completely unaffected by what he had done. The SandWing nervously backed up, and placed a claw around one of the silver snakes wrapped around his horns.

"Save it," Torrent snapped, continuing towards Gila. "It won't work."

Gila tried anyways, pulling the silver snake off his horn and throwing it a few feet away. It suddenly transformed, the metal growing and twisting into a full-sized dragonbite viper. It reared up and hissed, then charged towards Torrent, aiming to attack.

Torrent continued walking forward, unfazed. When the viper got within a few feet of up, it suddenly shriveled up, returning to its silver horn bracelet form. As Torrent walked past, he pressed the emerald on his dagger and touched its point to the small silver snake, disenchanting it permanently.

Gila gulped, and continued walking backwards. "Look," he pleaded, "whatever Evergreen is paying you, I'll pay you double. Triple. Name your price, I'm richer than she is."

Torrent snorted. "I'm not interested in money."

Gila smiled, moving further away from the end of the burning pier, the fighting dragons upon it still frozen and unmoving. "Well then, what are you interested in? I can do anything for you, you know. Money, fame, power, whatever you'd like, I can help."

"I want you dead," Torrent growled, lunging towards the SandWing, dagger out. Gila tried to touch a green diamond on one of his numerous necklaces in response, but he was too late, and the enchantment was blocked. With a single swipe, Torrent dragged his dagger across Gila's leg, creating a small spurt of blood which immediately solidified into stone. Gila opened his mouth to scream, but was only able to get it a short way open before the greyness crawled up his scales and into his mouth, fully turning the SandWing animus to stone.


	50. Chapter 49

As soon as Torrent stepped near enough to Gila, his amulet stopped working, and the bloody battle between the SandWings and SkyWings resumed. Crystal and Schist quickly ran over to Torrent, standing by the now stone Gila, while the SandWings, seeing the state of their employer, continued to disperse, realizing they'd lost. Torrent, meanwhile, looked over the statue of Gila with a frown. The SandWing's pleading expression was frozen on his face, and he had a stone claw against a piece of his magical jewelry.

Gila's enchanted jewelry remained untouched by the stone that now formed the SandWing's scales. Torrent grimaced a little. Who knew what Gila had enchanted — Torrent would have to disenchant it all. He started to the task, and holding down the emerald on his dagger, raised the blade up to the second silver snake around Gila's horns. He touched the blade to the hornband, causing the spell placed on it to disperse.

Crystal looked up at the SandWing, walking in circles to examine him. Schist poked Gila's frozen tail barb before quickly pulling his talon back, as if worried it would come alive in response.

"Is he dead?" a gruff voice asked. Torrent turned around. The last of the living SandWings and MudWings had fled, and Boulder was behind Torrent, peering up at Gila with caution.

Torrent nodded in affirmation, and knocked a claw against Gila's statue. It was solid. "Yes," he replied. Torrent returned to Gila and raised his dagger, going to cut across a few of Gila's necklaces to disenchant them.

Suddenly, Torrent felt a claw on his wingblade, pulling him back. He looked back to see Boulder with a frown. "We can use those," the SkyWing glowered.

"Better you don't," Torrent remarked, "you don't know what they can do; they're probably dangerous. Sooner they're destroyed, the better." He forced the smaller SkyWing away by spreading out his wing.

Boulder growled as Torrent continued his disenchanting, touching his dagger to the amulet Gila had used. The SkyWing waved a claw, and a few more of the SkyWings came over towards Gila's body. One of them grabbed the end of Torrent's wing roughly, pulling the SeaWing off the statue.

"Look," Boulder hissed, walking beneath Torrent's wing to face the SeaWing snout-to-snout, "this is ours to choose what to do with. _We're_ the ones who died for this, not you." he waved a claw over towards the end of the pier, where a large number of SandWing, SkyWing, and MudWing corpses layed down, many burning or singed. "We fought for this, and you're not going to take our victory from us."

Torrent faced the SkyWing down, giving the underboss a cold glare. "This isn't personal," Torrent growled, trying to shake the SkyWing free of his wing. "As I said, these are dangerous and need to be destroyed. You wouldn't want to activate an explosion in the middle of Evergreen's house, would you?"

Boulder snarled, his face contorted in anger, and spat in Torrent's face. The SeaWing turned his head, and it landed on the side of his snout. He lunged forward and broke away from the SkyWing grabbing him, going back to Gila's statue.

Boulder was about to give another order when Crystal stepped in the way of Torrent, giving him a look of warning. "Torrent just wants to make sure you're safe," she told Boulder, "but if you want to risk your scales for some jewelry, by all means, be our guests." She placed her claws around Torrent's horns and started to drag him away from the statue.

"What are you doing?" Torrent quietly hissed at Crystal. "Do you know what could be in those enchantments?"

"I'm saving your neck," Crystal whispered back, "Gila was the main threat, not some random enchantments he might have made. And I don't think Boulder is going to take 'no' for an answer."

She flicked her spiny tail up and looked over to Schist, who was still checking out Gila's stone barb curiously. The MudWing got the cue, and stumbled over towards Torrent and Crystal, trying to catch up to them. "We got what we came for," Crystal murmured, "c'mon, let's get out of here."

She spread open her wings, with Torrent and Schist quickly following suit, when she noticed that a circle of SkyWings had started to form around them. She gulped slightly; this wasn't good.

"Where do you think you're going?" Boulder snarled.

"We helped you with Gila," Crystal said, glancing back nervously, "that's all we wanted. You can do whatever you'd like with him and his enchantments."

A small grin formed on half of Boulder's mouth, his scales tightening upwards. "You're coming with us," he commanded, "I believe Evergreen would like to say goodbye."

"No thanks!" Torrent snorted, starting to flap his wings. "We don't need any payment, if that's what she wants to give us."

Crystal gritted her teeth as Torrent started to lift off, the SkyWings carefully watching him, awaiting orders from Boulder. Clearly, Evergreen didn't have a reward in mind for them.

"I don't believe you have a choice here," Boulder commented. "Come with us, or we'll take you by force." Boulder's threat didn't seem to be idle — Crystal saw four SkyWings with a net hung between them. If she refused to fly, they could tie her up and hang her on that from her tail: not an experience she particularly wanted to have. There was no chance of fighting, either, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

"We'll go with you," Crystal responded, giving Boulder an icy glare. She looked up at Torrent, who frowned as his webbed paws touched the wooden pier again.

"Good," Boulder replied with a toothy grin, spreading open his expansive wings. "I'm sure Evergreen will be thrilled to hear about Gila's demise." He lifted off, with a few SkyWings going after him. Crystal, Torrent, and Schist went next at the SkyWings' orders, with a large number of the SkyWings trailing behind the three.

Schist looked down below at the pier. Most of the fires had been put out, but a few pieces of flaming wood still remained in the river, being pushed away along with the corpses of a SkyWings, SandWings, and MudWings. Pieces of the ship were visible, but entirely spread out. More corpses remained on the pier. Schist turned away, not wanting to look anymore.

The return to Evergreen's mansion was more direct than their flight out — the dragons crossed the river immediately, and headed straight over the SkyWing city, their flight lit by gently-glowing lanterns. Torrent saw the blue-shingled roof below, where Griffin would be right now. Not too far away was their destination, Evergreen's mansion.

"Down!" Boulder ordered the three as he soared down first, with a few SkyWings following behind. Crystal, Torrent, and Schist did as they were told. They reached the front of the gate, where two different SkyWing guards were. It appeared that there had been a change in shift for the night. After the guards had opened it, Boulder motioned the three through the gate.

As they walked down the path, Schist saw the same cat on the side of the pathway. If Trustbreaker was reading the cat's mind, maybe he'd be able to know where they were. Schist gently slided away from Boulder towards the cat. It didn't shy away from him. He brought his head down to look at the cat. "Good kitty, good kitty," he whispered, "do you want to come inside with us?"

Boulder gave Schist a confused stare. Cute-talking a cat didn't fit a dragon with scars like that. "No cats allowed," he growled, "get up, we're going inside." Crystal also looked strangely at Schist, until she realized what he was doing. Trustbreaker had read the cat's mind earlier, if he could do it again, maybe he'd alert Avalanche and Griffin.

Schist nodded. He closed his eyes a little. "Sorry, kitty," he muttered. With a quick swipe of a claw, Schist cut across the cat's fur as he stood up, drawing a line of blood. The cat hissed in pain and clawed at Schist's paw before scampering away. He hadn't cut too deeply, he hoped. It would heal. Hopefully, Trustbreaker would notice that.

Boulder pushed the three through the mansion's doors, with a couple of SkyWings following behind him. Crystal looked backwards. If she got a direct blast at frostbreath while Boulder was distracted, they might be able to get out of the house alive — but there were still the SkyWings at the gate to deal with. She decided not to risk it; maybe they'd have another opportunity. If she could take Evergreen hostage somehow, the rest of the SkyWings would be at her mercy.

At the end of the hallway, a SkyWing shoved open the door to Evergreen's room, then shoved the three through it. Evergreen was sitting as she was when the three had entered the room just the morning before — the short crimson spikes of her tail resting upon her desk. Next to her was a new dragon that hadn't been there the last time they'd visited. A haughty looking SeaWing with green scales the color of algae stood next to the desk, examining Torrent closely. He held a small scroll which he rested one of his forepaws on, swiveling the scroll on Evergreen's floor.

"What is the meaning of this?" Torrent burst out with a snarl. "We did what you wanted, Gila is dead."

Evergreen shook her tail, her spikes rattling and screeching across her desk. She glanced over to Boulder for confirmation. "Yes," the SkyWing muttered, "they killed him. Magically turned him to stone. The SeaWing made a fuss about us taking the cursed jewelry he was wearing. We brought it back with us, but it's being taken directly to our eastern warehouse. Didn't want any stray enchantments here."

The hybrid nodded. "And the black powder the MudWings were smuggling?"

"Got a fair amount of it before their ship was blown to the Ice Kingdom," Boulder stated. "Would've been nice to know that it explodes when it catches fire. A lot of our crew could've used that info."

Evergreen ignored Boulder's glare at her, and turned to the three captive dragons. "I applaud you for your victory," she said with a smile, "I'd like you to introduce you to my friend here." She pointed her tail to the SeaWing. "This is Sturgeon. He's the Sea Kingdom ambassador in our city."

"Well, I'd hardly deign myself to call you my friend," Sturgeon coughed, exuding an aura of arrogance. "Just to be clear, this meeting is completely off-the-records?"

"Yes," Evergreen frowned, slightly irritated, "believe me, I don't ever want to recall meeting you either."

Sturgeon nodded, then looked over at Boulder. "May you, er, lift the SeaWing's wings up for me to see?" he asked.

Boulder gave the SeaWing a look of confusion, then turned to Evergreen as if asking her for any objections.

"Go ahead," she sighed.

Boulder nodded and flicked his tail. The two SkyWings which had come in with him and the three walked to either side of Torrent and grabbed the edge of his wings, digging their claws into his wing membranes as they forcibly spread his wings open. Sturgeon looked down at the bottom of Torrent's wings, standing a fair distance back in case the struggling SeaWing attempted to fight.

"Yes, yes," the ambassador muttered in delight, "he really is Prince Torrent! I had thought for sure he was a fake! You see, just the other day, I had a SkyWing attempt to pass her mate off as the missing prince, who she had covered in blue paint! He was the most miserable creature I had seen, though not as bad as this poor MudWing here, it seems so unfortu — "

"Just give me the money," Evergreen snapped, getting irritated by Sturgeon's antics. "I don't care about your lizard-brained stories."

"Of course," Sturgeon muttered, looking slightly offended. He took out a small pouch and handed it over to Evergreen, who clutched at it greedily. "The rewards for finding one Prince Torrent, as promised."

Torrent gave Sturgeon a glare of anger as Evergreen ripped open the pouch, grinning at whatever she saw in there.

Sturgeon smiled over at Torrent. "You're going to be coming back with me to the Sea Kingdom," he stated, "where hopefully, I shall get _my_ reward for returning Queen Coral's third-youngest prince to the Deep Palace!"

 _Third-youngest?_ Torrent thought in surprise. "I'm not going," he growled in defiance.

"Well, of course you are!" Sturgeon snorted, as if he couldn't consider anything else.

Crystal hissed at Evergreen. "We had a deal. We helped you with Gila! Let Torrent go!"

Evergreen snorted. "I make lots of deals," she replied. "Gotta keep up this desk somehow." She looked down at her desk with a frown. The spikes in her tail had created another few scratches in the lacquered wood. She sighed.

Crystal thought for a moment. "Well, if you want a deal, we can offer you a better one. Torrent is a prince. We've got more riches than what's in that pouch the SeaWing gave you."

"Really?" Evergreen asked, skeptically. She opened the pouch and pointed it over towards Crystal, revealing inside a necklace with tiny diamonds inlaid all along it. "More than this?"

Crystal nodded confidently, though only half-sure. "Yes. We can supply more."

Sturgeon started to say something in protest, but Torrent interrupted. "Yeah, I've got a ton of jewelry back in the safehouse. We can supply more than that."

Crystal looked towards Torrent in almost horror as Evergreen grinned from horn to horn. "Oh, really?" the hybrid crime lord asked. "I suppose we might have to check out this 'safehouse' of yours, won't we." _You stupid prince!_ Crystal thought, gritting her teeth. Torrent seemed oblivious.

Evergreen turned back towards Crystal, scratching behind a horn with a claw. "Don't worry, your SeaWing friend's stupidity hasn't lost you anything," she stated, "I doubt that what he has is worth anywhere near as much as, say, a sizable portion of Queen Glacier's treasury, as well as Prince Narwhal's hand in marriage?"

Crystal's jaw hung open in shock, unsure what to say. Seeing her expression, Evergreen chuckled. "You've been quite a notty IceWing, haven't you? Apparently, Queen Glacier's willing to pay a lot to find you and whatever you stole. And I've just been so fortunate as to have you fall right into my talons!"

Crystal shook her head in alarm. "You don't understand what you're doing!" she protested. "If you return me, thousands and thousands of dragons could die!"

"And why should I care?" Evergreen asked with a sigh. "Thousands of dragons will die no matter what. Pyrrhia is at war; it always has been, and it always will be."

"No!" Crystal said. "Not like this! Queen Glacier is trying to kill the entire MudWing tribe! She wa —"

"Quiet," Evergreen hissed in irritation. "I'm a hybrid, a freak. Why should _I_ care about the MudWings, or the IceWings, or any part of the war for that matter? Do you hear that?" She turned to face Boulder, her ears twitching. "I _told_ you to tell my guards to keep that cat away! Do you understand how irritating it can be to have a constant meowing interrupting while I'm wor —"

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and a flood of cats devoured the room. Cats of all sizes, shapes, and pelt colors ran across the floor before any of the dragons could tell what was happening, with a NightWing and a SkyWing closely behind them.

The guards holding Torrent stood in surprise as around five or so cats jumped on each. They tried to shake them off, and were able to fling a few across the room, but more of them kept on coming. One guard screeched in agony and flailed about, almost hitting Torrent, as a cat stabbed its claws into the dragon's eyes before scampering off. The second tried to claw at a cat running along his spines, but noticed, too late, a second cat jumping up to his neck. With a few bites, the cat broke through a gap in his scales and tore open one of the SkyWing's artery. Blood burst out of the dragon's neck, staining the fur of the cats below a dark red.

By this point, the other dragons had recognized the threat. Sturgeon had ran behind Evergreen's chair and was now curling up behind it like a frightened dragonet. Boulder swiped a paw at a cat in front of him and hit, causing the poor feline to slam into one of Evergreen's paintings. Boulder smiled in a short-lived victory as the cat slumped down to the floor and didn't get up, before Torrent whirled around and hit Boulder's head with his tail. There was a loud cracking sound as Torrent's tail made contact with Boulder's skull, and Boulder crashed to the ground, blood dripping out between his horns.

When Avalanche walked into the room, Evergreen was the only dragon left worth fighting, the others were unconscious or dead (the SkyWing who had gotten his eyes clawed had ran his snout into a wall and was now lying on the floor unmoving). Avalanche snorted in irritation and stretched her claws out. She'd only been able to fight one dragon today, and the guards at the gate had been untrained.

Evergreen opened her mouth to say something in protest, but Avalanche was there first. The SkyWing unlatched her jaws and let forth a frightening burst of flame. Crystal jumped to the side to dodge it, feeling the heat uncomfortably against her cold scales. Evergreen lifted a wing in front of her, trying to block the hit, and roared in pain as Avalanche's flames seared her wing membrane. The hybrid ducked down, trying to use the desk in front of her as cover, causing Avalanche to change the direction of her firebreath to the wooden desk. After a few seconds of intense flame, the desk caught fire.

Evergreen stepped out from under the burning desk and jumped on top of it, wincing as the flames licked against her scales. Using the desk to launch herself, she threw her body at Avalanche, her claws out to attack. Avalanche took a quick step to the side and raked her own talons against Evergreen's rose-gold scales as she tumbled past. Evergreen quickly turned around, swinging her spiked tail at Avalanche, and smashed it into the SkyWing's side, the short spikes piercing into the leathery scales just beneath Avalanche's wing. The hybrid smiled as Avalanche hissed, blood leaking from the SkyWing's side.

Evergreen tried to pull her tail out from Avalanche's body, but felt a force resisting it — Avalanche had grabbed ahold of the hybrid's tail and was keeping it in place. The SkyWing thrust her claws a short length from the tip of Evergreen's tail, stabbing into the sensitive spot all dragons had. Evergreen screamed as Avalanche used the leverage of her talons, deep within the flesh of the hybrid's tail, to pull Evergreen's tail-spines from her body and drag the rest of Evergreen to the ground.

As Avalanche stepped over Evergreen, pulling her talons out from the hybrid's tail, Evergreen attempted to claw at the scarlet SkyWing's underbelly, but as she started to rake blood from the SkyWing's scales, Avalanche stomped on Evergreen's neck, causing the hybrid to choke. The Skywing placed one of her hind legs on Evergreen's now fully exposed underbelly and rolled her over, keeping her pinned to the ground, then wrapped her claws around the hybrid's neck. With a short twisting motion, a loud pop reverberated throughout the room as Avalanche snapped Evergreen's neck.

Avalanche stepped away, then looked over the room. The desk was still on fire, and it was quickly spreading across the room. Sturgeon poked his head out from behind it. "Mercy, please!" the SeaWing screeched.

Avalanche snorted, and stepped towards him to end his pitiful existence when Schist scooted between her and Sturgeon. "Don't worry," the MudWing tried to comfort the frantic SeaWing, "we're not going to hurt you."

Avalanche gave Schist a glare, but stepped back. Sturgeon meekly nodded and crawled from behind the burning desk. As he stepped past Avalanche, she suddenly lurched forward and stabbed her claws into the SeaWing's throat. His eyes flew open in alarm and he attempted to step back, but it was too late. As Avalanche stepped backwards with a smile, Sturgeon collapsed, dead.

Schist glared at the SkyWing in horror. "WHAT?" he yelled. "I said we weren't going to hurt him!"

"He would've notified everyone that we were here and killed Evergreen," Avalanche growled threateningly. "If he'd survived, everything we've done could've been lost. We can't afford that, not after Nautilus. You'll thank me later."

Schist stepped forward angrily, and was about to bark a protest, when Torrent interrupted. "Not now," Torrent mumbled, pointing a webbed talon at the burning room, "later."

Schist clenched his teeth, and scratched his claws against the floor of the room. Sturgeon's death wasn't needed.

Crystal looked around the burning room, then opened her jaws, ready to breath frostbreath and put out the fire.

"Don't," Avalanche ordered, "this way, all her wealth dies with her, along with any evidence." Crystal closed her mouth and turned around.

"Then we need to get out of here," Torrent suggested, glancing anxiously around at the spreading flames. He walked towards the exit of the room, stepping around Evergreen's corpse, then exited the door. Crystal, Schist, and Avalanche followed, with Trustbreaker and a trail of cats leaving after them. The group quickly got down the stairwell and exited the mansion.

As they reached the gate, two SkyWings lay on the ground, both dead. Schist suddenly stopped moving as a horde of cats ran past him, dispersing into the dimly lit streets. He stood completely still and held his balance on three legs, not wanting to step on any. Turning back, Trustbreaker remained with Sapphire by his side, and the cat that had lived by the now burning mansion, now with a large gash in its fur. "Sorry," Schist apologized, both to the cat and Trustbreaker, "thank you for saving us."

The NightWing nodded, and looked back up at the burning mansion. A large portion of it had caught flame, and looked like it might soon collapse. Smoke sailed upwards as the fire lit up the night sky.


	51. Chapter 50

The five dragons immediately rushed back to the blue-shingled house, for fear that they might have been seen. At the door, Griffin was waiting, worried out of his mind.

"Thank the moons you're alright!" he breathed in relief as the five entered, his sharp talons visibly shaking. "Is anyone hurt?"

Griffin swiveled his feathered neck over at Schist, checking for injuries. The MudWing shook his head. "Avalanche was the only one who really got hurt," he muttered with a glare at the SkyWing.

Avalanche was definitely wounded, but she walked as pridefully as before, if not more so. The wounds on her chest and underbelly that Evergreen had caused were shallow, and the blood had quickly clotted and stopped dripping. The rest of the red spots on her body was either her bright scales or blood that her own — Evergreen and Sturgeon's blood was clearly visible on her claws.

Griffin turned to Torrent as the SeaWing stepped through the doorway. "I killed Gila," Torrent notified Griffin.

"And after killing her and a SeaWing ambassador, Avalanche burnt down Evergreen's mansion," Crystal explained. She looked around the small safehouse. Fortunately, they didn't have too many belongings to put in order.

"Oh, blame me, will you?" Avalanche hissed. "You ungrateful hatchlings, you're the ones who got into trouble with Evergreen in the first place, and I had to save your tails!"

"Just stating the facts," Crystal replied back, without emotion. "Not passing judgement."

"You didn't have to kill Sturgeon!" Schist roared at Avalanche, filling the void Crystal's non-judgemental stance had opened. "You can't just go around killing dragons whenever you want!"

"Pyrrhia's been in war for the last seven years," the SkyWing snorted. "The queens can go around killing whoever they'd like; I don't see why it makes a difference if I do it too."

The scarred MudWing stomped on the ground. "So you think it's alright if dragons just kill each other whenever? Sturgeon was innocent, he was just following his orders as ambassador."

"Innocent?" Avalanche laughed. "Innocent dragons don't get caught up in the mob. Maybe he should've stayed in his place if he wanted to keep safe."

"It still doesn't mean he deserved to _die_!"

Avalanche tossed her wings back and forth. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I had to do it. We've lost enough dragons already, we can't lose anymore. Trustbreaker understands." She peered back at Trustbreaker, looking for support. He uncomfortably nodded; they had lost enough dragons already.

"Crystal said you were part of some peace movement," Schist barked back, narrowing his eyes, "yet you're just killing more dragons?"

"Sometimes, dragons have to die," Avalanche snorted, "this war isn't going to be stopped by asking the SandWing princesses to talk out their differences. Unless two of them are buried in their graves, the fighting will just go on, and more and more dragons will have to die for them. If a worthless SeaWing has to be killed, then so be it."

"C'mon, you're not going to get any further with her," Griffin spoke softly to Schist.

"Yeah," Crystal agreed, "and we don't have time to talk. The authorities could be here looking for who started the fire any second now."

Avalanche shook her head. "We've got time. Gila and Evergreen had most of the authorities under their pay, now that they're both gone, there'll be a bit of panic before they can get organized enough to come after us."

"Oh," Crystal replied, "so, do we need to go after all?"

"Yes," Avalanche hissed, "you still have to go, it's not like the authorities will suddenly stop existing. I don't want you here anymore, and it's long past time I get out of this dump anyways. I have some arrogant NightWing to meet with anyways, apparently he refuses to meet with IceWings, so I don't exactly have a choice in the matter."

"Fine," Crystal acknowledged, not caring to hear Avalanche's griping. She pulled together her stuff, and pulled a silver chain out of her back, the Darkstone swinging from the end, emitting its strange glow. It was still there, much to Crystal's relief. Trustbreaker glanced over at it, and Crystal gave him a glare. She tucked the Darkstone back in her pack, and swung the bag beneath her left wing. "Let's go."

The other five did the same, pulling together their belongings. For the clutter around her house, Avalanche seemed to have little she actually cared to bring with her, just a few fine pieces of SkyWing jewelry. Trustbreaker set out a small bowl of water and another one of meat, for any of the cats who returned to the house. As they walked out the door, it was just barely dawn, and the weather was overcast, a gloomy faint light revealing the cities. Smoke was still rising from the cinders of Evergreen's mansion.

"Let's get out before anyone sees us," Avalanche growled. Crystal muttered something in agreement, and Trustbreaker parted his wings, the cat Sapphire nestled gently in his fore-claws. The six took off into the morning air.

"Where are we going?" Schist yelled at the dragons ahead of him.

"Just south of the cities," Trustbreaker explained, "a large hill along the Five-Tail River, neutral territory. We'll stop there."

The flight out of the SkyWing city was tense, but breathtaking. The sun slowly rose over the mountains to the east, casting long shadows onto the city below. Torrent made sure that Griffin flew directly over the SeaWing and Avalanche, so that his small figure would be blocked from below by their wings. The six weren't alone in the airspace, SkyWings and SandWings were starting their morning commutes, but they fortunately flew high enough that no one noticed Griffin or bothered them.

Far beneath them, Crystal saw the same crowds of dragons that she and Torrent had seen when they had gone out into the city, but this time, from above. A mixture of pale yellows, reds, and oranges started to crowd the streets, pushing past each other to get to wherever they needed to. The six continued on, unbothered by the dragons below as the sun rose into the sky.

The scenery began to shift as the group left the cities behind them, the buildings became sparse, along with the dragons inhabiting them. Eventually, the hill that had been mentioned appeared, a glorified mound of dirt on the east side of the river. The six tucked in their wings slightly and began the descent to the hill.

As soon as they had landed, Avalanche stated, "I'm going to leave now."

"Oh, you are?" Griffin asked, pretending that he was going to miss her.

"Yeah, you think I want to stay with you any longer?" she snorted.

"What she means," Trustbreaker explained, "is that she has to meet with an important NightWing, and should be off." He stared at Griffin a little closer. "And I will be parting ways too, Fracture wanted to speak with me soon."

Griffin ruffled his feathers in discomfort. The NightWing had read his mind there; he had been wondering if Trustbreaker was going with Avalanche or if he'd have to stay with them.

"Tell him I said hello," Crystal replied, slightly irritated, "and make sure you let him know that I saved Schist's life with the Darkstone. Do it smugly."

"Using animus magic is nothing to be proud about," Torrent muttered, "it was a last resort." The IceWing turned to him and gave Torrent a glare, but didn't comment.

"I will make sure to notify Fracture of everything," Trustbreaker stated, almost like it was a vague threat. Sapphire turned his head to Griffin, who gulped as the cat peered into him. "If anyone needs me, I will be at a town called Crosswinds on the Great Five-Tail River after I'm done with my meeting, south of here."

"Thank you for everything," Schist grumbled, as if he wasn't quite sure how thankful he was. Torrent stretched his wings, impatient for the two to leave so that he could continue on south.

Avalanche and Trustbreaker spread their wings back open, and the NightWing cradled the blue-eyed Sapphire in his claws. With a blast of air, the two dragons were off into the sky, each heading in different directions. From the sun's morning position, Crystal could tell that Avalanche was heading to the north-east, into the Sky Kingdom, whereas Trustbreaker went to the north-west, along the SandWing-IceWing border. Without looking back, the two dragon soared in their respective directions, until they became just small specks nearing the horizon.

"Well, _I'm_ sure disappointed in my sister's choice of friends," Crystal snarkily commented, making sure the two were out of hearing range, "Avalanche was worse than a starved polar bear."

"Oh, come one," Griffin replied, trying to make a smile with his beak, "they weren't _that_ bad, were they?" Torrent tossed his wings back in forth, as if he was debating this. Griffin looked over to Schist for backup, but the MudWing gave none.

"I hope I've got better choice in friends than her," Crystal said, glancing at the three others around her. They were much nicer than Avalanche, and not at creepy as Trustbreaker. At least, that's what the IceWing hoped.

"So, where to?" Griffin asked Torrent. "Hopefully somewhere where I won't have to be stuffed in a house that smells like cat piss?"

Torrent rolled open his enchanted map, and laid it out on the ground as the others crowded around. He pointed a webbed talon to a green dot, in the western side of the rainforest. "I think that's where we should go next."  
"The rainforest?" Schist commented, with a little surprise.

"What about here?" Griffin asked, pointing a talon to a large mountain on the map in the south of the Claws of the Clouds. On it, a grey blemish stood out, indicating another animus.

"Jade Mountain?" Crystal wondered.

Torrent shook his head. "No, Jade Mountain has two peaks. That's Agate Mountain, I think. I thought about going there first, but we'll want to stay along the Claws of the Clouds anyways, so that we remain in neutral territory, and it's not much further to the rainforest. And if there is an animus in the rainforest, they should be pretty easy to take out; chances are they're just a RainWing. Maybe we can catch them sleeping."

Crystal nodded in agreement. Griffin opened his beak a little bit, as if to say something in protest, but closed it, thinking better of what he was going to say.

"Then we're settled?" Torrent asked, looking over at Schist.

The MudWing shrugged his wings up a little, not really liking the plan. "It might be nice to see the Mud Kingdom, even if it's not much of it and it's far away."

"Great," Torrent smiled, glad everyone was in agreement. The SeaWing opened his wings. "In that case, let's get flying."


	52. Chapter 51

To travel to the rainforest, the four decided to fly along the eastern side of the Claws of the Clouds, the mountain range dividing Pyrrhia in two, and at the point where the four were flying, separating the Sand Kingdom from the Mud Kingdom. As they traveled along the border of the mountains, Schist gleefully looked towards the east, to where the rest of the MudWings there. Although the only MudWings they saw were specks in the distance, and the swampy grounds of the Mud Kingdom were too far to be visible to Schist, he seemed to be proud of the kingdom he hailed from, even if he'd visited very little of it outside of the village he'd grown up in.

The weather varied between extremes on the border of the mountain range: from the Sky Kingdom came cold, dry winds which made flying uncomfortably turbulent, and from the eastern marshes hot, humid winds blew, occasionally bringing rain with them. It was on a day like this, a warm shower falling on the four, when Griffin asked Torrent, "What are we going to do if one of the animus dragons isn't bad?"

"Huh?" Torrent commented in confusion.

"Gila and Adobe were both using their powers to hurt others," Griffin explained, "and both Magma and Sunscorcher attacked us, so we didn't exactly have a choice there. What if we find that the animus is just minding their own business in the rainforest?"

"If they've got powers, then they're a danger," Torrent assured him. "Chances are they've already used their magic, and lost part of their soul from it."

"Like Orca?" Griffin asked with a frown.

"Yes, like Orca," Torrent snapped back. _What is Griffin getting at?_ "She killed River in the end, and she's the one who wanted me to kill her," Torrent reminded Griffin.

"Well, maybe she was wrong," Griffin replied. "Orca killed River to save us. She just wasn't able to think of another enchantment in the time she had. Besides, Orca isn't the only one who's used magic, what about Crystal?"

Crystal continued flying a moment, then turned back, hearing her name called. "What?" she asked, slowing her pace a little to fall in line with the other three.

"You've also used magic," Griffin explained, "if we end up facing an peaceful animus, then we shouldn't just immediately kill them."

Crystal shook her head. "I'm different from a normal animus. Even if I have lost a piece of my soul, I can't use magic again, as far as I know. I'm not a threat to anyone, the Darkstone is, and that's why I'm keeping it with me. To make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong claws."

"What if we can convince the animus not to use their powers?" Griffin put forward.

"That wouldn't work," Torrent retorted, "as long as they have powers, they can still use them. We have no way of making sure."

Schist had flown a little closer by now, and decided to join in on the argument. "We still shouldn't kill them if they're peaceful and we can avoid it!"

"Then what would you suppose we do?" Torrent snorted. "If Orca had given me something to remove their powers, then sure, but she didn't, and I don't think Crystal would be able to enchant something like that, at least not without killing herself while doing it. I'm not even sure if it's possible." Although, if Erosion had given Magma powers, who knew?

"Why don't we just let them be, or make sure they only use their powers for good?"

Torrent sighed. "Crystal and I explained this already. It's too dangerous. Animus magic can do awful things, and a lot more dragons could die if it's not stopped. Better just to make sure it doesn't exist."

"Yeah, but animus magic can also do good things!" Schist protested. "It could be used to stop the war, or unite the kingdoms."

"Do you really want to take that risk?" Torrent asked. "You should know most of all of us that using animus magic like that doesn't work. That's what Adobe tried, to use his magic to save dragons. You should be more worried about magic than all of us."

"Don't tell me what to think," Schist snapped.

Torrent snorted. "Fine. It probably won't matter anyways. Chances are, the animus we meet will be going around torturing RainWings or something."

Eventually, the four reached the rainforest, a vast expanse of trees stretching out further than Griffin could see. The canopy completely covered the ground, and barring a few rivers, the four's eyes were unable to penetrate the greenery to see the ground. All of it looked the same to Torrent, and the only way he was able to find his direction was by using his map, the green blemish representing their destination.

After hours of flying, Torrent believed they had found the area corresponding to the ink blotch, though it looked little different from any other section of the rainforest, just a dense plethora of foliage.

"I think we're here," Torrent replied. He pointed his dagger below and pressed a talon to the amethyst. It felt mildly warm to the touch, though the SeaWing wasn't sure if that was just the humidity of the rainforest sticking to it.

The four made their descent to the densely covered ground, the heat and humidity sticking uncomfortably to Crystal's cold scales. It took a while before they found a spot where they could land, and even then, Torrent's wings were scratched up by falling branches before he reached the ground. As he walked out of the opening so Schist could land after him, he flapped his wings and gritted his teeth, airing out the scratches.

Crystal looked around the area. The scenery certainly was a change. Ferns and small plants covered the ground, and it felt like wherever she looked, there was a wiry tree to block her path. It might get difficult to get around. "Where to?" she asked, "I don't see any sign of an animus."

"Just a moment," Torrent said, holding out his dagger. Closing his eyes, he spun it around in a circle, trying to feel in which direction the amethyst was the hottest. When he opened his eyes, the dagger was pointed directly at Griffin, who stepped back in alarm.

"Sorry," Griffin muttered. Torrent sighed, and tried again. He had forgotten that Griffin was included as an animus enchantment.

This time, Torrent thought he had more luck. The gem was distinctly warmer in one direction. "This way," he commanded, trying to make his way through the maze of trees. The others followed.

"Do you hear something?" Crystal suddenly asked, her ears perking up. She turned around, looking back and forth. _RainWings?_ she wondered. She supposed that if Torrent's dagger was right, there'd have to be at least one dragon nearby.

She suddenly stiffened up in surprise. It felt like something had just bit her tail. Crystal turned around to see who the culprit was, but instead, she saw a small thorn sticking between her scales, with a few blades of a grass-like plant sticking out of the back. She reached a claw towards the thing, to try and inspect it. But as she moved her paw, it slipped, Crystal lacking the coordination to pick it out. The IceWing suddenly became woozy, and the world around started to spiral into darkness as she quickly fell unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Griffin asked in alarm, turning back to see Crystal fall to the ground. "I think she fell unconscious!" he yelled to Torrent and Schist. "It might be the Darkstone again!"

He turned to Torrent and Schist to see that they were in a similar state. They had also fallen down, and were gently breathing, the plates across their underbelly slowly moving in and out. _Well, I guess that theory is debunked._

Griffin suddenly felt a small poke, and waved his feathered wing, trying to shake it off. It was probably another one of those bugs, they had been biting him for the last few minutes. After feeling another bite, he turned around, trying to slap it with his talons. Instead of a mosquito, Griffin saw a small number of thin darts sticking out of his feathered wings and backside. He pulled one out, and inspected it. It had a colorful liquid on the tip.

"It's a sleeping dart, strange bird," a voice suddenly said from in front of Griffin. "It's supposed to make you fall asleep." Griffin immediately turned to see a small dragon materialize in front of him. She had vivid scales of dark blue on most of her body, with splotches of yellow all across her. She brought her head closer to Griffin, as if inspecting him.

"Who are you?" Griffin squawked in alarm, taking a step back. As he did so, he suddenly ran into another scaly body behind him. Looking around, a second dragon had materialized, this one slightly older, with a goofy grin plastered on his snout.

"It can talk, like a parrot!" the second dragon observed. The first looked excited at this prospect.

 _A parrot?_ Griffin wondered, surprised. _There were other birds that could talk?_

"Don't worry, weird little dragon-bird," she comforted Griffin, "your friends will be fine, they should wake up before too long. I'm Liana, and this is my friend Simian; we're RainWings! Welcome to the Rainforest Kingdom!"


	53. Chapter 52

Crystal stared at her reflection, cracked and blurred by the wall of crystalline glass pressed up against her snout. She blinked for a few moments, recalling where she'd been a second before. The rainforest. There'd been something in her paw, and she'd been woozy, and then . . .

"I'm dreaming again, aren't I?" Crystal snorted, turning away from the mirror-like wall. She remembered this place. She'd dreamt it back in her Darkstone coma. Same as before, a long platform of the same crystalline material extended out her in a bridge across a pit. A NightWing entrapped in ice was at the middle of the bridge, and in front of him floated the strange spectral MudWing.

He flicked his tail with a grin as Crystal turned. "Very true."

Crystal glanced towards the walls of the cavern. The frozen NightWing seemed to have a reflection in it, but the MudWing was absent. Was this just a feature of her dream, or was there some strange magic going on here? She knew myths of dragons speaking to others in their dreams, but had never really payed close attention to them. She turned back to the MudWing and sighed. She tried to think back to her first dream with him, but the details were still blurry. "So, it's you again."

"You sound unhappy to see me," the MudWing replied. He extended his forepaws and pushed them back, as if he was swimming through the air. The action seemed to propel himself over the bridge, until he reached the point where Crystal stood, almost bumping into her.

The IceWing took a step back. "I can't say I'm super excited," she retorted. "What was your name again. "Cal . . . ?"

"Calamity," the MudWing answered. "Unusual name, isn't it?" He rolled onto his side midair, resting a wing beneath him as if he was lounging. With a twitch of his tail, he circled to Crystal's left. She carefully kept her eyes on him, turning as he did. She wasn't sure how to hurt a floating ghost dragon, but she didn't want to be caught unaware.

"Yeah, sure. So, who are you, and why are you speaking to me in my dreams? Did Queen Glacier summon you or something to haunt me?"

Calamity snorted. "Queen Glacier? No, nothing to do with that. I'm just a friendly MudWing ghost, trying to give you some advice in your dreams."

A quiet growl rumbled through Crystal's throat. "So you're a ghost? How does that happen? Animus magic?"

Calamity flicked his tongue. "Somewhat right. You've had animus magic on your mind a lot lately, haven't you?"

"Shut up," Crystal hissed, irritated. It was true. How had he known that? Had he been spying on her? Or maybe he was just a vestige of her own subconscious, manifesting itself in her dreams. "And how does being a ghost let you speak into my dreams?"

Calamity shrugged his wings, Crystal wincing at the strangeness of him doing it unbound by gravity. "Spooky ghost powers. And I told you a little last time we met."

Crystal frowned, before suddenly recalling some of their conversation. "The Darkstone," she realized. "You knew about it. You said I was 'incompatible' with it. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Calamity grinned, his tail flicking beneath him. He changed directions in his air-swimming like a shark, causing Crystal to quickly turn the other way, her claws outstretched. "Any holder of the Darkstone is able to use some amount of animus magic, depending on how long they've held it and their physical fortitude, but it can't work well unless you have animus blood."

"'Animus blood'?" Crystal asked. "Like, you have an animus parent?"

Calamity nodded. "Or, if you're lucky, you can get it if you've got an animus grandparent. You know what I'm talking about. Your father researched animus genetics extensively."

"He didn't determine that it was recessive," Crystal replied. "It didn't match the data we had available." Boreal's research had been drawn from centuries of secretive IceWing geneticists. How did this MudWing know about it?

"The mechanism is complex," Calamity explained. "I'll explain it to you in more detail a few years from now, but animus-determination relies not just on a single allele, but a few alleles of varying rarity, methylation, and some more . . . unnatural factors. The Darkstone is a extremely powerful mutagen. With enough time, it's bound to give any dragon a few trace cells with the animus phenotype. But unfortunately, one who is incompatible will likely end up dying from cancerous mutations before they develop the magical ability needed to save themselves."

"Like the animals Boreal tested it on," Crystal answered, remembering her father's failed experiments. "Wait, are you saying I'm going to die?"

"Everyone dies," Calamity yawned. "But you won't die from the Darkstone. You haven't worn it long enough." He swam up to Crystal's neck, giving it a small poke where Crystal had previously worn the Darkstone.

She shivered as his talon passed into her, before he pulled it out again. She took a step back. "Don't do that again," she threatened him.

"There would be clear markings if you had worn it too long," Calamity continued. "But there aren't. Your natural lifespan might be shortened, but in a world like this, how many dragons live out their full natural lifespans?"

"How do you know all this?" Crystal interrogated the MudWing. "About the Darkstone. You know more about it than my dad did. Were you a MudWing spy that got killed by the IceWings?" No, that wouldn't have worked, he couldn't have gotten past the Great Ice Wall. "Did the Mud Kingdom have their own Darkstone source?"

"I died long before Boreal hatched," Calamity tsked. "Don't fret, Queen Mudhen knows nothing about this, and except for your small group of friends and a select group of IceWings, no one else has any clue."

"Moorhen," Crystal quickly corrected him. Calamity shrugged his wings in response uncaringly.

"It's besides the point what her name is now," Calamity snorted. "I visited you because I needed to warn you. You and your little troupe are going into the rainforest to find an animus, correct?"

"Yeah," Crystal said with a frown. "How do you know this? Are you watching us? Is the animus dangerous?"

"Sure, I'm watching you," Calamity sardonically answered, rolling his eyes. "And the animus isn't dangerous yet, which is what makes him so dangerous."

Crystal gave out a huff, letting out a puff of cold white mist onto Calamity. It passed through the MudWing, who seemed completely unaffected. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He appears innocent now, but if you are unable to stop him, he'll overuse his magic and end up causing the deaths of many dragons," Calamity yawned, stretching out his wings.

"Are you telling me you can predict the future?" Crystal asked. "Don't give me that 'I'm not a NightWing, I can't do that' crap. You're like Fracture, aren't you, with some weird vague sense of what everyone is doing that you refuse to explain to me!"

Calamity snorted, almost wheezing. "You're completely wrong," he laughed. "I'm nothing like your brother-in-law. For starters, I'm half-dead." He raised up a translucent wing, showing it off to Crystal, who could see through it to the cavern. He gave her a wink and a grin. "I told you, spooky ghost powers."

Crystal bared her teeth. It felt like this dragon was intentionally trying to get on her nerves. "So what you're saying is that the animus will kill a bunch of dragons in the future, but hasn't lost his soul or whatever yet? Why not just say that clearly?"

The ghostly MudWing flicked his tail, and didn't offer up an answer to his own actions. "You're correct. So will you promise me to make sure that Torrent kills the animus?"

"No," Crystal replied, causing Calamity to give out a small sigh. "Sorry. There's no way I can just trust a weird ghost dragon in my dreams who claims to know the future. I'll take your advice into account, but no promises."

"I didn't expect one," Calamity continued. "But if you want proof that I know the future, the first thing Torrent will say after you wake up is that his head feels like someone dropped a coconut on it."

"What?" Crystal asked. "Why would he say that? Did his head get hurt or something?"

"You were drugged by RainWing sleeping darts," the MudWing quickly explained. "They're a bit less partial to intruders than they claim to be."

"Oh. So that's why I fell asleep." Calamity nodded to confirm. Crystal sighed. "Alright. So if Torrent says this, I'll know you can predict the future, but that doesn't mean you're not lying to me."

Calamity grinned, showing his sharp fangs. "You're right. But is me telling the truth a risk you're willing to take? A lot of dragons' lives depend on your decision."

Crystal glared at Calamity, and suddenly swished her spiked tail through his ethereal body, a small chill running up it. "I hope you realize that this is just making me hate you more."

"We're on the same side," Calamity comforted Crystal. "And in time, I'll be your most trusted ally."

Crystal shivered. She hoped that was a lie.

"Well, the sleeping drug is starting to wear off," Calamity commented, swimming back away from Crystal. "I'll see you soon. Hope that you remember my name next time. I already know that you will, by the way, I'm just saying that to make you feel slightly guilty for forgetting it."

"Great," Crystal grumbled. So now she was having mysterious dreams with an unhelpful undead prophet. "Thanks for the heads up. I'm not going to have to fall into that chasm again, am I?"

Calamity licked his ethereal fangs. "Nope. Just open your eyes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Crystal laughed. "My eyes are already o —"

Crystal woke up with a start, opening her eyes to the scenery around her. Bright light flooded through her eyes, and a feathered face looked down at her.

"Oh, you're awake!" Griffin exclaimed. "Finally!"

Crystal attempted to hoist herself up, though her limbs barely responded to her will.

"What happened?" she groaned. She looked around. She seemed to be on a small pavilion made of woven vines. Behind her, Torrent and Schist were lying down, fidgeting slightly in their sleep. Looking back at Griffin, there were five dragons around the platform, all of various bright colors, hues of purples and oranges Crystal had never known existed. RainWings. She frowned, memories of her dream already starting to drift away from her. That's right. She'd had a dream. There was an annoying MudWing ghost, and he'd told her something about RainWings? She tried to remember, but it was already fading. "No, no," she winced, desperately trying to recall it. "Come back."

"They used sleeping darts on you all and brought us back here," Griffin answered. He scratched beneath his wing, where there was still a small poke from one of the darts.

Crystal looked around, and noticed the pack she had been carrying over at the edge of the pavilion. _The Darkstone!_ she remembered in worry. It was in there, not around her neck. She staggardly scrambled to her pack, to have a midnight blue RainWing warily step in front of her, blocking her path.

Crystal hissed at the RainWing, baring her fangs. "Are we your prisoners now?" she growled.

"Prisoners?" the RainWing, Liana, asked herself. She chuckled a little. "Oh, don't worry, we're not _savages_. No, no, we normally just put any hapless dragons which wander into our rainforest to sleep and fly them outside the borders."

"Then where are we?" Crystal asked. She looked out of the corner of her eye. Torrent seemed to be stirring awake. That was good, she'd want another dragon if it came to a fight; she doubted Griffin would be too effective, even against a RainWing.

"Well," Liana continued, "we don't usually have dragons fly _right up_ to our largest village, and your talking dragon-bird didn't fall asleep when we darted him, so we just brought you here for now."

"Gryphon," Griffin corrected Liana.

The RainWing nodded. "He's much smarter than the other talking birds here!" she commented unhelpfully.

Torrent started to woozily lift his body onto four legs, stretching out his tail. He had heard some of what Liana had said, but was still trying to parse it. They were captured by the RainWings, but apparently weren't prisoners? He'd trust an eel more than that. He put a claw to his side, and noticed that his dagger was no longer resting against his scales. Torrent glanced around the pavilion, and noticed its jeweled handle next to one of the other RainWings. It started to shake, and slowly moved towards Torrent, but the RainWing put a claw on it with a sigh, and moved it back to where it was. "My head feels like someone dropped a coconut on it," the SeaWing grumbled.

Crystal suddenly snapped awake at the phrase, her wings stiffening up and her tail smashing into the wooden pavilion. Her dream started to come back to her. There was the ghost MudWing, and he'd told her about the Darkstone, and about the animus. There was an animus here, one who would be very dangerous in the future. Torrent looked towards the shocked Crystal, unsure why she appeared so suddenly agitated. The SeaWing glanced around the rainforest, wondering if they were under attack.

"So, why are you here?" Liana asked. "This wasn't an accident, was it?"

"No," Torrent grumbled. "We're looking fo —"

"For some mangoes," Crystal quickly interrupted, giving Torrent a look of caution. And cacao. We had some while up north, and it was very delicious. We were wondering where to find some more."

"Oh!" Liana exclaimed. "You must have met Mallow! He goes up north for whatever reason every so often, taking a bunch of unripe mangoes and cacao with him! It's so weird, why would he ever want to leave the rainforest?"

"Who knows?" Crystal replied with a smile. "It's so nice here, isn't it? Nothing at all like the cold, frigid Ice Kingdom."

Liana grinned, then looked behind Crystal with an expression of concern. Five young RainWing dragonets were bounding down a small bridge to the pavilion, with an adult RainWing running behind them. "Stop!" the older RainWing called. "Come back, it's not safe!"

The five dragonets didn't heed their teacher's warning, and crowded around the four newcomers. As Schist was just rising, two looked at him curiously. "It's a MuddyWing!" one exclaimed.

The second dragonet poked at one of Schist's fused and scarred scales, causing the waking MudWing to flinch in pain. "Wow, what happened to you?" she asked. Schist tried to mutter something in reply, but couldn't get any intelligible words out.

"Oh, I'm very sorry," the older RainWing apologized, reaching out a burgundy forearm to grab one of the dragonets by the tail, though the dragonet got away before she was able to grab her.

"Ooh, look at this!" a pinkish white dragonet said in fascination, walking over towards Torrent's dagger. It was shaking slightly, and moving towards Torrent again on its own. "It moves on its own! It's magical, like me!"

Torrent tensed up, wondering if he'd misheard the dragonet. Magical, like the dragonet? That couldn't be right. This dragonet couldn't be the animus, he didn't seem evil, or powerful, or anything like that. Torrent gulped. Maybe this was just a mistake; the dragonet could just be playing pretend, or maybe the actual animus had given the dragonet an enchanted object?

He glanced over to Crystal, verifying that she'd also heard what the dragonet had said. The concerned frown on her snout indicated that she also understood.

"Don't touch that!" the RainWing teacher yelled in alarm, seeing the dragonet trying to grab the dangerous weapon. She quickly lept over to the dragonet and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, dangling the little RainWing from her mouth. "Svo mvere svopfry," she tried to say, unable to properly reply while holding the dragonet with her mouth.

Meanwhile, Liana and Simian had been rounding up the other dragonets, including one who was pouncing on Crystal's tail, distracting her from her thoughts. They pushed them back onto the bridge and stood in their way as the dragonets' teacher, with the final dragonet, exited the pavilion, leading the crowd of dragonets away.

"I'm sorry about that," Liana continued, "even Bromeliad can't control all her students sometimes. Now, you're welcome to stay in our village for as long as you'd like, I'm sure you'll be able to find someone who can direct you to the best mango trees."

Crystal thought for a moment, still worried by what she'd overheard the dragonet say. If Calamity was right . . . did she have a choice? "Yes, mangoes," she said with a start. "Yes, thank you for your hospitality. Can we get our stuff back now?"

"Oh, yes, of course! But please, keep weapons away from our dragonets, and anyone else." Liana stuttered, worried that she'd been rude to her guests. Torrent walked over towards his dagger, which moved towards him in reply, as if to greet him. When reunited with it, he pressed a talon on the amethyst, and pointed it in the direction to where the dragonets had gone off. It was warm. He gritted his teeth. He couldn't do this.

Crystal immediately scrambled for her satchel. Opening it up, she saw the Darkstone was still inside. With a sigh of relief, she carefully took the silver chain out and draped it around her cold neck. Seeing that Crystal was putting it back on, Torrent turned towards her, wanting an reason for why she was wearing it again after they'd explicitly agreed to leave it _off_.

"I want to keep it safe," Crystal explained. "I need to make sure it's not lost or stolen; that would be a disaster." Anyways, if Calamity was right, there wasn't much danger of her wearing it, as long as it wasn't for too long.

"Oh, don't worry!" Liana clucked assuredly. "No one _here_ would ever steal anything! RainWings just don't do that!"

"Just in case," Crystal quietly responded. Torrent, meanwhile, had decided he was satisfied with this reasoning — only wearing it for a little bit couldn't hurt, and it was pretty unlikely she'd be able to successfully use animus magic again.

"Here, let me take you to the hammocks!" Liana suggested. Crystal hesitantly accepted, and followed the RainWing as she glided down off of the pavilion. Torrent, Schist, and Griffin tagged behind her, and tried to keep up with the RainWing as she nimbly glided around branches, using her tail to balance herself mid-flight.

Through the short flight, Torrent realized why he hadn't seen the village from above: most of the houses had roofs made of leaves, camouflaging the village in a way strikingly similar to the Summer Palace. RainWings stopped what they were doing and uncomfortably stared at the four as they flew past; it didn't look like they got many visitors here. As they approached a large woven pavilion, Liana made a quick burst up, and glided onto the pavilion, landing like a feather on the vines.

On the other claw, Crystal, Torrent, and Schist landed much less gently. Torrent almost ran into the side of the pavilion, and just reached over the edge, scraping his underbelly on the woven flooring. Griffin had a lot easier of a time landing, stopping mid-flight to touch down, but then again, he was as small as a dragonet. Crystal looked at Liana with a hint of envy — if all the IceWings were as good fliers (or gliders, in this case) as her and the rest of the RainWings, then maybe the war could have been over years ago.

"C'mon," Liana said, looking slightly smug of herself, "some of the best hammocks are this way." She quickly took off across the pavilion. The four followed behind her at a walking pace, as RainWings looked on at the little procession.

"Is that a bird?" one orange and yellow colored RainWings whispered to his friend as Griffin walked past.

"No," Griffin muttered in exasperation, inciting a cry of amazement from the crowd. The four continued on past the onlooking RainWings to a small bridge to another pavilion. Hammocks were strung between the trees all around; many of the ones that sunlight shone directly on were filled with RainWings who were either fast asleep, bathing in the few golden rays that penetrated the rainforest, or were curiously looking at the four newcomers.

"Alright, here we are!" Liana said to the guests. "This is where you'll sleep while you stay here! Or any other hammocks, but these are my favorites, if you want my expert opinion. I'm sure Olive, he's the dark green one pretending to be asleep beneath the banana tree, will be happy to tell you about the best mango spots in the rainforest when you ask him!"

"Right, thank you so much!" Crystal replied with a generous smile. She turned to Schist with a bit of anxiety in her eyes. "Schist, go ask Olive about the mangoes. Torrent and I need to talk. In private."

Before Griffin or Schist could respond, Crystal shoved the SeaWing off the side of the bridge, causing him to spread his wings out in a reflexive glide, almost flying into a sleeping RainWings. With a quick leap, Crystal was after him, gliding down down to the rainforest floor.


	54. Chapter 53

Torrent followed Crystal, walking through the damp forest floor away from the rainforest village. His webbed feet scrunched on moist leaves, causing mud and dirt to get stuck between his talons. "Where are we going?" he asked Crystal.

"Shhh!" she hissed, pulling him closer. "Outside the village, where RainWings won't hear us."

The two walked a little longer, frogs and birds flying above the two, squawking and ribbiting to each other in the all but silent rainforest. Eventually, Crystal reached a distance she felt was satisfactory. She whipped her head around, the Darkstone swinging right in front of Torrent's snout.

"Get back," she whispered. Torrent did so, and Crystal opened her mouth wide. A hissing sound emanated from the back of her throat, and frostbreath sprayed onto the ground. Cold white mist spread from the point Crystal had hit, billowing across the rainforest ground. Crystal moved her head to the right, almost hitting Torrent with her horns as she turned. She continued spraying frostbreath in a circle, causing Torrent to move so that he'd avoid being hit. The mist spread across the forest floor, billowing up into the undergrowth.

When the frostbreath mist had cleared, a circle of frozen plants and leaves surrounded Torrent and Crystal. "What was that for?" Torrent asked.

Crystal glanced around at the trees in concern, her head twisting up and down, before answering Torrent. "RainWings can turn invisible, remember?" she explained. "That's how they were able to tranquilize us. I wanted to make sure we weren't being spied on."

"Oh," Torrent replied, in understanding. Any RainWings that followed them would have been made temporarily visible by the billows of mist.

"The animus," Crystal started off. "Are you sure they're here?"

Torrent breathed through his clenched teeth, sharp triangles against his scales. He pulled out his dagger, and moved it around a little, pointing it towards the village. "Yes," he replied in exasperation, "almost certain."

"The dragonet, back on the pavilion?" Crystal pressed.

"He's the one," Torrent grumbled. "The gem on my dagger warmed when I pointed it at him."

Crystal sighed. She paced back and forth a little within the circle of ice before looking back at Torrent. "You know what we need to do," she muttered unsuredly.

"You want me to kill a fucking dragonet?" Torrent roared, his claws clenching the dirt beneath him.

"Quiet!" Crystal hissed. She quickly looked around the forest again. "And _yes_ , I do." Torrent bristled a little. "Sure, he's just a dragonet now," Crystal continued, "but give it seven years. He already _knows_ about his powers, so he's had to have used his magic already; he could have lot a ton of his soul by now. These are also _RainWings_ we're talking about, not SeaWings, IceWings, or another tribe which knows the warning signs of soul-loss. They're letting him run around, telling outsiders about his powers. What if one of the princesses got word of him, and decided to invade the rainforest to take him?" Crystal looked desperate now, her own fears making her more sure of the importance of this. As annoying as he was, she believed Calamity.

"He's a _dragonet_ ," Torrent muttered.

"So what?" Crystal asked. "Darkstalker was a dragonet, once. Same with Albatross and Fen. Do their names mean nothing to you? By the time he's as old as we are, he could be under the control of a queen, or have slaughtered the entire RainWing tribe. Or both!"

Torrent grumbled, and closed his eyes. Crystal was right; this dragonet was no different than any other animus. If it came down to killing an innocent dragonet in order to save an entire tribe, or the entire species, from destruction, then getting rid of the dragonet was the right thing to do. "Fine," Torrent hesitantly agreed.

Crystal noticed Torrent's hesitation, and narrowed her eyes. "Don't pretend you're just doing this 'cause I told you to," she hissed. "If we're doing this, we're doing it together."

Torrent looked away uncomfortably. "I said I'd do it, alright?" he replied in exasperation. "Even if I don't want to."

"I don't _want_ to either," Crystal explained, "believe me, I'd much rather leave this up to someone nastier, like Glacier or Burn. But unfortunately, they're not here." Torrent didn't reply. "C'mon, let's go," Crystal muttered.

The IceWing stepped out of the circle of ice, and Torrent followed. She took off flying, and carefully returned to the pavilion where Griffin and Schist were, Torrent a safe distance behind her. As they walked across the bridge, Torrent shivered. It felt like all the RainWings were watching him, as if they knew what he planned to do. He told himself they didn't, it was just that he was clearly an outsider here.

As the two approached, Griffin and Schist were engaged in whispered discussion. Schist turned to Crystal and Torrent with a start, as if he wasn't expecting them. Griffin suddenly spread out his feathered wings, and leapt of the bridge, flying upwards, towards an empty pavilion.

"Follow me," Schist ordered Crystal and Torrent with a slight stammer, lifting up, trying to make his way through the branches and leaves. Crystal and Torrent went after him. They reached the pavilion, which Griffin was already standing on, his sharp talons poking into the woven floor.

"We discussed," Schist said to Torrent and Crystal, giving Griffin a quick glance back. Torrent and Crystal hadn't been the only ones to notice what the dragonet had said. "We're not killing a dragonet."

"We're leaving the rainforest, now," Griffin added.

Torrent opened his mouth, ready to protest, when Crystal gave him a sharp poke with a spike on the end off her tail. "Agreed," Crystal lied, "but we can't leave now." She pointed a claw up to the sunset sky. "It's going to get dark soon, we need to wait until daylight."

Griffin and Schist exchanged glances. "Alright," Schist decided quietly, "but we leave tomorrow, at first light."

"That's fine," Crystal replied with a smile. She turned over to Torrent, expecting an answer from him. Schist and Griffin couldn't understand. Maybe one day. They needed to do this, with or without them.  
"Fine," he grumbled cautiously, not sure what Crystal was intending.

"Good," Griffin muttered, giving Crystal a stare. He flapped his wings up and down. "The hammocks Liana suggested are down there, and I'm getting tired."


	55. Chapter 54

Torrent tossed and turned in the netting of the woven hammock. It kept getting caught around his wings throughout the night, and he was constantly worried that he'd flip over and plummet below, unable to open his wings in time to save himself. All in all, it didn't look like he'd have a comfortable sleep.

The largest of Pyrrhia's moons was almost full, at its zenith, when Torrent felt a cold claw tap a wingblade. He shot up with a start, causing the hammock to rock back and forth. "What's goin —"

"Shhh!" Crystal hissed, putting a claw in front of Torrent's mouth. She was reaching over to him from a nearby tree, her sharp talons gripping into the tree's bark and holding her up. The IceWing, afraid of losing her balance, quickly took her claw away from Torrent's snout and clutched around the tree.

Torrent breathed a sigh of relief, glad it was Crystal there. "What's going on?" he asked again, this time in a low whisper."

"Penguin-brained SeaWing," Crystal muttered under her breath, drawing a frown from Torrent. "We're going to kill that animus while it's still dark," she explained.

"Oh," Torrent replied, still a bit drowsy. _So that's what Crystal's plan was._

"This way," Crystal ordered. She grasped a vine with her talons and used her tail to swing herself onto one of the woven pavilions nearby. Torrent followed, his webbed paws struggling to grasp onto the vine, and his tail too hefty to maneuver around. Fortunately, he was able to make it to the pavilion with a bit of help from Crystal, who grabbed his tail with her serrated claws. He cringed as they poked between his scales.

As soon as Torrent was stably on the platform, Crystal was off. "I think I found where they keep their dragonets," she whispered, carefully stepping onto a woven bridge. Torrent followed behind, trying to make his pawsteps as silent as hers. The SeaWing glanced around the rainforest, the faint light from the moons being completely sufficient for his nightvision to pick up. There didn't seem to be any RainWings awake, fortunately for them. In two hammocks not far away, Schist and Griffin should be sleeping.

Torrent felt a pang of guilt. "Maybe we shouldn't be doing them behind their tails."

"Who?" Crystal asked quietly.

"Schist and Griffin," Torrent answered, "they thought we weren't going to do this."

"And with any luck, they'll never know," Crystal hissed. "They don't understand what we're dealing with here. Nothing we say will convince them to change their minds."

Torrent sighed. Crystal was right, he doubted either of them would be willing to go through with this. He wasn't sure why — Griffin had known Orca and had seen Sunscorcher, and Schist had grown up trapped by Adobe — how come neither of them recognized the menace this dragonet could become, how many RainWings would be hurt and killed by it?

Crystal led onwards, flying cautiously through a tunnel in the rainforest foliage. She seemed to have gotten a much better handle on the strange combination of gliding and flying that the RainWings performed than Torrent, grabbing ahold of vines to assist her in her slow glide. Torrent tried to do the same, but had trouble just staying on track, and ended up getting branches whacked into his snout. Crystal continuously gave him looks of fright, worrying that his clumsy glide would wake up nearby RainWings, though none seemed to notice. He supposed it was good for him and Crystal that they were all fast asleep, but without any guards or watch of a sort, things could prove disastrous — someone could kidnap the queen, steal treasure or eggs, or in this case, kill an animus dragonet. It was fortunate they didn't have any enemies.

The two reached the area which Crystal thought was the wingery for the dragonets — a giant trampoline of woven vines and leaves, hung between the tall trees of the rainforest. Tall walls surrounded the trampoline made from branches, woven together. At the bottom of the walls, the branches were woven so tightly together it was impossible to see through the thicket, but further up, where it was less likely for a dragonet to stumble out of, they loosened up quite a bit. The two dragons landed on a platform not too far from the wingery. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any RainWings sleeping too nearby the structure.

As Torrent used his nightvision to search for a good flight route over the walls that wouldn't end up with him stuck in a tree, he asked Crystal, "What will happen when the RainWings find out the dragonet is dead? We're outsiders, they'll suspect us first."

"Maybe, but these are RainWings we're talking about. Don't overestimate their abilities of deduction," Crystal answered. "Anyways, we'll be out by then. I'll be getting Schist and Griffin at first light, remember? At the break of twilight, far before any of the RainWings are awake. I doubt they're early risers." She glanced up at the sky, as if she was impatient for dawn to approach already.

Suddenly, Torrent whipped around. He heard wingbeats approaching. "Hide!" he hissed at Crystal. She looked around. There was no place to hide.

Two figures touched down at the platform, one much smaller than the other. Torrent gulped as they came into focus. It appeared that Schist and Griffin had been less asleep than Crystal had thought.

"What are you doing?" Schist quietly asked with a growl as the two stepped forward. He glanced behind the two, at the woven mats surrounding the wingery.

"Just going on a short flight," Crystal replied with a smile, "I couldn't sleep, and accidentally woke Tor —"

"Stop lying," Schist interrupted, baring his teeth, "that's the wingery, isn't it? Where they keep the dragonets?"

Crystal kept her face grim. "You know this is what we have to do," she hissed.

"Killing a dragonet?" Griffin hissed, his sharp talons scraping against the platform. "He doesn't have to die." He swiveled his feathered head to Torrent. "How could you lie to me?" he spat. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Torrent, do it," Crystal ordered, "I'll wait here."

Torrent glanced over at Griffin, lowering his head. He shouldn't have lied to him, he knew that, but he had no other choice. For the good of all Pyrrhia. "I'm sorry," the SeaWing grumbled at his friend. He opened his wings, and flapped them, generating the lift required to propel him forwards and up, towards the wingery.

"Torrent, stop!" Griffin squawked after him. "You don't have to do this!" The SeaWing shook his head, and continued on upwards, as Griffin debated whether or not to go after Torrent. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop the SeaWing. Sure, he could wake up the RainWings, but that might condemn Torrent, all of them even, to death. Yet, if it was him or an innocent dragonet . . .

Schist had already made his choice. The MudWing barreled forward, spreading his scarred wings, and tried to make his way after Torrent. But as he flew into the air, he felt sharp talons scraping against his tail as Crystal grasped ahold of it with her foreclaws. Forced to land, Schist fell onto the platform, crashing upright.

The MudWing growled at Crystal. "Let me past," he warily ordered her. He stepped to his right, and she followed suit, eyes locked together.

"No," she answered with a hiss. "I'm not going to let you interfere and get us all killed."

Schist roared, and lunged forward at Crystal. She tried to side-step the attack, not expecting Schist to turn on her so quickly, but he latched ahold of the side of her neck with his teeth, and tried to use it as leverage to throw the IceWing to the ground.

Unfortunately for Schist, the strange surface of the vines threw him off balance, and as he tried to throw her to the side, Crystal lashed her tail out, cutting him across the back of his neck. He let go of her in surprise, and she took that to her advantage, clawing beneath his wings. Schist stumbled back, but remained undaunted by the few minor scratches he'd received. He slammed his left, unscarred side into Crystal, pushing her over.

As Schist stood over her, Crystal took that to her advantage, and dug just the tips of her claws into the MudWing's soft underbelly scales as she dived beneath him. He gritted his teeth in pain, and Crystal cringed slightly, pulling her claws outwards a little. Drops of blood dripped onto the woven floor, but it was nothing like the horror she could have caused by digging her claws in deeper to tear through muscles and organs. Schist was still her friend, and while she needed to stop him, she wanted to do it without hurting him severely or irreparably, even if she still had the healing diamond in case of an emergency.

Schist breathed heavily, and Crystal thought he was going to give up for a moment, but the MudWing twisted hard to his right, his fused scales crunching up against each other and cracking, causing blood and pus to seep between them. He tried to bite at Crystal's neck again, but ended hitting the back of her neck instead of the side this time, along the sharp spines that lined it, causing them to rake along the side of his snout. He suddenly reared backwards, quickly realizing that he'd be unable to attack her there. Griffin stood by, unsure of whether or not to interfere.

"Stop this," Crystal hissed, turning back around. "We don't have to fight."

Schist growled, and once again tried to attack Crystal by slamming into her. This time, she sidestepped the maneuver and hit him with a closed claw, knocking him off balance. Schist staggered a few steps away, then looked back at Crystal. "Yes, we do. When I met you, I thought you were my friend!"

He took another step towards Crystal, lowering his body down. The IceWing took advantage of that, moving just slightly to the side, then jumping up and onto Schist, pushing the MudWing over, onto his right-side, his wing pinned and twisted beneath him. He tried to lift himself back up, but the smaller IceWing pushed him to the ground again. "We can still be friends."

Schist suddenly turned his head upwards, and opened his jaws. "Schist, stop!" Griffin suddenly yelled out, realizing what Schist was planning to do. As much as he hated her right now, Griffin didn't want Crystal to be blasted with firebreath, and at such a short range, the rebound of the burst would set Schist aflame too, in addition to the mat of vines holding all of them up. Schist might even end up starting a forest-fire.

Schist closed his jaws, and turned to Griffin, backing down and turning his head to the side. By this time, Crystal had noticed what Schist was trying to do, and had started to prepare her own frostbreath. A thick white mist started to emanate from the sides of her mouth. Griffin looked on in shock, seeing the IceWing open her jaws.

At what felt like the last moment possible, Crystal turned her head to the side, away from Griffin and Schist, shooting out the prepared freezing death breath harmlessly onto the floor. A large number of woven vines were covered throughout by the frostbreath turning white and snapping. Fortunately, the RainWing talonwork was well-made, and past a frozen hole in the floor, the pavilion stood unharmed.

Crystal's breath slowed as Schist lay down in defeat, not getting back up to fight. Griffin's heart still raced, his talons shaking. Crystal looked down at the bleeding MudWing beneath her, his blood still on her talons. She closed her eyes in realization at what she'd almost done. If she hadn't turned her head to the side just moments later, Schist would be dead at her claws.

Crystal gathered her claws against her snout. This wasn't the time for emotions. She turned around, towards the blurry shadow of the wingery. She couldn't see Torrent anymore; he would be inside the wingery by now, and the dragonet could already be dead.


	56. Chapter 55

Torrent slowly swooped down onto the trampoline, his night-vision picking out a spot for him to land, a hardened platform which wouldn't bounce. He quietly landed, tense as he checked around the area. So far, none of the RainWing dragonets had stirred, much to Torrent's relief. If one woke up now and decided to cry out for help, it would make the situation very, very tricky.

The dragonets were gently sleeping on the trampoline and around the edges of the platform, some huddled up in groups, and others a small distance off. In the dark, Torrent was unable to see the range of colors that they were, causing the RainWings to all look like shades of black and grey, like NightWings or IceWings. The SeaWing unsheathed his dagger, and pressed a talon to the amethyst. He slowly twirled the blade in a circle around him, feeling the gemstone heat and cool, hoping desperately that it would reveal his observations wrong, and lead away from the wingery. No such luck. The small dragonet he'd seen earlier was where the gemstone was the hottest, by far.

The RainWing animus was fast asleep, and had his tail gently wrapped around his head and neck. The dragonet's underbelly gently rose and fell as Torrent took a step towards him, carefully making his way around the other dragonets nearby. Torrent gently placed a webbed paw onto the trampoline, slowly feeling it, and lowering his weight so not to shake it up and down. Glancing to his left, another dragonet rolled over, tucking her wing in, creating small tremors in the trampoline. Fortunately, she didn't wake.

Torrent took another step. Only a few more before the dragonet was within reach. All he had to do was poke the poor thing with his sharpened dagger, just enough to draw blood, and the animus would be turned to stone. The trampoline gently swayed beneath the large SeaWing as he stepped forward again. Almost there now . . .

With a final step, Torrent had reached the animus. If he leaned far enough forward on his front-left leg, he'd be able to reach forward and prick the dragonet with his the dagger right forepaw. He hesitated for a moment. Sure, killing the dragonet would prevent him from causing mass travesty with his powers, but the RainWing was innocent, he hadn't done anything bad yet. Maybe there was another way. Maybe with the right guidance, the dragonet would avoid the fate of Albatross, of Darkstalker, of Fen.

Torrent thought back to his conversation with Crystal. This was all a _maybe_. And if the dragonet didn't receive the right guidance, if he slipped up . . . then he could kill many, many dragons. Sure, it was _possible_ things would turn out alright, but that wasn't a risk Torrent could take. No, it wasn't a risk Torrent _should_ make. This was his duty to Pyrrhia, to protect the dragons around him, to keep them safe. Just like his mother's duty was to protect the SeaWings, his was to protect dragonkind from animus magic.

Torrent made his decision, and reached forward with the dagger, poking the soft membrane of the dragonet's wing with his dagger, placing a talon on the midnight-black pearl inlaid within it. The point broke through the membrane, causing the dragonet to flinch. For a moment, it looked like he might wake, but by that point, it was already too late. Emanating from the point the steel had scratched, grey stone quickly covered the dragonet's body. The RainWing attempted to move slightly, but was trapped by it, quickly surrounding his small chest, crawling up his neck and his snout, turning what would have vivid scales in the sunlight to the dull, plain grey of stone. Inside and outside, the animus dragonet was completely frozen, his life snuffed out in his sleep.

Torrent stayed cautiously still. The trampoline had bent further downward from the transformation. He closed his eyes, and started to turn away from the stone corpse, like one of the ancient queens in the SeaWing mausoleum. He didn't want to look, but the dragonet deserved that much. This was his doing, his choice. He thought about whispering an apology to the RainWing, even though it wouldn't change what he did. "I'm sorry," he simply muttered, trying to be half-genuine. Even if the RainWing had to die, the dragonet hadn't deserved death.

The SeaWing solemnly glanced back up to the night sky, stars blotted out by the dense canopy of the rainforest. The fullest of the moons was barely visible, and it appeared to be sinking towards the horizon. The deed was done, and Pyrrhia was safe from this dragonet.

Torrent landed on the platform outside of the wingery, claws stiff and stable. He looked down, unwilling to meet Griffin's eyes as the feathered creature tried to meet his. "Torrent . . . ," Griffin whispered, not sure what else he could say. He swiveled his eyes down to Torrent's dagger, the faintest spot of red blood on its tip, revealing the fate of the dragonet.

Crystal was still on top of Schist, holding the shocked MudWing to the ground. He was bleeding, and the remains of frostbreath were on the vines not too far from him. It was clear to the SeaWing that there had been some sort of fight. Crystal looked over to Torrent, still uncertain of their decision. She opened her mouth, going to ask what had happened, but Torrent replied first.

"You can let Schist up," he quietly whispered in melancholy. The image of the dragonet still burned behind his eyes, the gleeful little creature from the pavilion waking up to a dark death. "It's done."

Crystal stepped off Schist. The MudWing was silent for a moment, then rose to his paws. He glared directly at Torrent. "You're a monster," Schist growled, fury bristling through his amalgamate of fused scales, liquid still seeping between them from the fight. "He was a dragonet!"

"I know," Torrent acknowledged, not bothering to try and defend himself. Schist was right, wasn't he? Torrent _was_ a monster, even if he had done it for the right reasons. He'd killed a dragonet. No good dragon would be willing to do something like that.

"Does that not bother you?" Schist yelled. He turned to Crystal. "You're just as guilty in this!" he said accusingly. She didn't respond, keeping an emotionless expression across her snout.

Schist stamped a paw on the ground, and breathed a puff of smoke. Crystal tilted her head away to avoid it. "I'm leaving," Schist stated, "I don't want to see any of you, ever again." His wings shot open, striking Crystal across the snout, forcing her to take a step back. She raised a talon up to the wound he'd made, and wiped her claw across it. Blue blood.

Schist turned around, and lifted off into the air, his scars beneath his wing visible. Griffin watched as he swerved back and forth, trying to find a hole in the canopy to fly through, using only the moonlight. Torrent stared down in shame. Eventually, the MudWing was able to break free, and flew out of visibility, the foliage blocking the view of those beneath.

Crystal turned to Griffin. "Are you going with him?" she snapped.

Griffin turned to her with a glare. Maybe he should. He liked Schist, after all. But Schist had said he didn't ever want to see him again, and Griffin didn't blame him. He should have done something, tried to stop Crystal or Torrent. Maybe he'd get another chance. "No," he hissed, "I'm staying by Torrent."

Crystal wrinkled her snout, then stepped over to Torrent, her tail swishing behind her. Griffin watched her carefully, his beady eyes following her. This was her fault; she was the one who convinced Torrent to do this; to break his and Schist's trust. But she hadn't had a choice, right? She alone knew what was going to happen.

"Where to now?" Crystal quietly asked Torrent. She glanced around. None of the RainWings had woken up, it appeared, even with Schist's yell. She was glad they were such heavy sleepers, but they couldn't stay here for long. They needed to get out of the rainforest as soon as possible.

Torrent lifted his head up, avoiding meeting Crystal's eyes. They had come this far, already. They might as well continue on. "West. To Agate Mountain." The next animus was there.

Crystal nodded in agreement. "Then let's go," she softly said, giving Griffin a quick glance of caution. She unfolded her wings, and took off, Torrent quickly following behind her. It took Griffin a bit longer before he went after them. From the ground, his eyes tracked the two as they rose into the distance. Agate Mountain. Griffin spread his feathered wings open, and followed the two, keeping a pace behind them. As he rose above the canopy, he turned his beak to face the opposite direction. To the east, towards the Mud Kingdom. Now a small blotch in the distance of the night sky, a half-moon lighting his way, Schist appeared in the distance. The MudWing's wings slowly pulsed up and down as he flew. Loss and solitude was all Griffin felt at this moment.


End file.
